Who is Jeremiah Brent, Queer Eye’s new design expert – and why did Bobby Berk leave? Brent will join the ‘Fab Five’ on the Emmy Award-winning Netflix show for Season 9, set in Las Vegas
The latest iteration of the Fab Five has a fresh new face on board.
Roughly three months after the news that Queer Eye design expert Bobby Berk would be leaving the series after season eight, Netflix announced that Jeremiah Brent will be stepping in to replace him.
But who is Jeremiah Brent and where might you have seen him before?
Who is Jeremiah Brent?
Brent, whose birth name is Jeremy Clevenger Johnson, is a design industry superstar hailing from Modesto, California.
Berkus and Brent – the first same-sex couple to be featured in ads for Banana Republic – were married in 2014 and are the parents of eight-year-old daughter Poppy and five-year-old son Oskar, both of whom were born via egg donors and surrogates.
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In 2011 – the same year he appeared on The Rachel Zoe Project – Brent founded design firm Jeremiah Brent Design (JBD), with offices in Manhattan and Los Angeles.
“My personal design aesthetic is monastic, but obviously, we don’t do just that with the firm,” he told Architectural Digest in 2022.
Why did Bobby Berk leave Queer Eye?
Following the premiere of Queer Eye in 2018, Berk quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his stunning home makeovers and compassionate conversations. So it came as a surprise to fans when the 42-year-old Houston native announced in November that he was departing the show after season eight, which dropped on January 24 on Netflix.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season eight will be my final season on Queer Eye,” Berk wrote on social media. “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 elaborated on his departure in a recent profile for Vanity Fair, saying he thought the show had come to an end after they had completed the contract they initially signed.
“We thought we were done [after September 2022],” he said. “Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things.”
But then, after nearly a year had passed, Netflix decided to renew the show with a contract that required a commitment of up to four seasons. Having already made other plans, Berk decided not to sign, while his fellow castmates did.
“We just assumed that the show wouldn’t come back if we all didn’t come back,” he said.
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Berk also confirmed rumours of a rift with fashion expert France.
“Tan and I had a moment. There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show,” he told Vanity Fair. “It was something personal that had been brewing – and nothing romantic, just to clarify that.”
Where can you watch Queer Eye?
- Bobby Berk is a fan favourite who starred on the reality show since it debuted in 2018 – which is why viewers were shocked by news of his departure 3 months ago
- Jeremiah Brent is next to take Berk’s role – he’s married to fellow designer Nate Berkus, has 2 children by surrogate, and has been in reality TV for years, for Bravo and the Oprah Winfrey Network