Overworked design chief Bobby Berk exits Queer Eye

Bobby Berk, a.k.a. the guy with the most demanding job on the show, is leaving Queer Eye after eight seasons. As the show’s design chief, Berk has long had the most labor-intensive area of expertise on the series, renovating houses, creating habitable spaces, and bulk ordering oversized general positivity posters. At the same time, Food & Wine master Anotonio Porowski teaches participants, formerly known as “the straight guy,” how to add butter to bread.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that Season 8 will be my final season on Queer Eye,” Berk wrote on Instagram. “It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one. Although my journey with Queer Eye is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.”

Berk joined the reboot six years ago along with Porowski, culture guy Karamo Brown, fashionista Tan French, and grooming great Jonathan Van Ness. For the last eight seasons, they’ve been teaching people to believe in themselves through the power of positive thinking, community engagement, and also maybe trying a volumizer. Regardless, in that time, Bobby Berk has toiled away, creating sick bachelor and bachelorette pads, single-dad playrooms, and bedrooms that give participants privacy from their parents. He could be seen in the background of Queer Eye episodes hauling lumber, painting walls, and discovering mold as JVN taught grown men that a soul patch is actually quite difficult to pull off.

Now, before we get apocalyptic about what’s going to happen when the person who does everything in the group assignment decides to leave, Queer Eye fans aren’t through with Bobby yet. He will appear in season eight for a final round of makeovers in New Orleans. Berk’s final season will stream on Netflix on January 24, 2024. That won’t be the end of the show, though. Another season, this time in Las Vegas, has already been renewed by the streamer. However, they won’t have Bobby Berk to push around anymore.