Queer Eye’s new interior design and home organisation expert Jeremiah Brent has revealed why he was initially “really nervous” about joining the Fab Five.
Say I Do star Brent joined Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Karamo Brown as the fifth member of the Netflix makeover hit for the ninth season at the end of 2024.
But the decision wasn’t one he felt wholly at ease with at first, he tells PinkNews while promoting his new partnership with bug repellent brand STEM.
“I was absolutely terrified, which has always been the driving force for me, usually around decisions I kind of run into that because I’m really good at failing,” he admits.
“So I’m like whatever, what’s going to happen? I can bounce back from anything. I was closeted for 20 years – I can do anything!” the 40-year-old adds triumphantly.
“I was really nervous about it because that show is important culturally. It’s important with the work it does, with the people that it meets and interacts with. Obviously this show has been on for quite a few seasons before I came on, and I really wanted to do a good job,” he continues.
“It’s like any group of friends that you walk into, they’re a family, and they’ve been through a lot together and, talk about advocacy, those four have been on the front lines the most difficult conversations culturally in the last decade.”
Brent stepped into the shoes of Bobby Berk, who was Queer Eye’s resident design expert from the first season in 2018 to the eighth season in 2023.
Berk’s departure ignited a flurry of headlines speculating about the reasons behind his decision to leave, with some reports suggesting tensions between the Fab Five.
Yet Brent tells PinkNews that since joining the show he and the other four Queer Eye stars have become incredibly close, with season 10 commencing filming very soon.
“I said the first day I met them, ‘I’m just here to be a partner. I’m just here to be a friend and to do this with you guys.’ What blossomed from the experience is probably four of my dearest friends now, and they’re people that I don’t think we would have ever come together under any other circumstance,” he shares.
“But life is funny, and it puts the people in your life that [are] meant to be there, and it has been a real gift. I’ve absolutely loved every part of it. And the only thing I’m gonna say is that the show is real, it’s not like these other things that you see on TV that are wildly produced, because I’ve been a part of that,” he confesses.
“You actually make an impact on people’s lives and you watch them step into this new iteration of themselves and see themselves the way you see them. So it’s just really powerful, and [I’m] really proud to be a part of it.”
During his funny ad campaign with STEM, Brent walks through a beautiful home space while New Girl star Max Greenfield plays a pest who comes to disrupt the relaxing atmosphere. Brent highlights how the STEM Light Trap and Fan Trap can help deal with home pests.
Brent, who already uses STEM’s insect-repelling products in the New York home he shares with his husband Nate Berkus, says that his tips for creating a relaxing home environment are less about how much you spend and more about how you clean and organise your space.
“We did [grow] up with not a lot of money in our home at all but our mother worked really hard, but what was really important was cleanliness, that organisation. We may not have had a lot, but we took a lot of care in what we did have,” he shares.
“Beauty is not about how much you spend in your space, right? It’s about the story you’re telling about who you are through your space.
“With [Queer Eye] especially, I’m proud of the fact that every episode stylistically, it’s very different, because the people are different and their stories are different, and what they find beautiful is different, and what they need to find respite in is different.”
He rounds off: “[It’s] less about the sofa, more about the moment that matters the most to you in that room. That can really shift the way you live, absolutely.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
The post Jeremiah Brent was ‘terrified’ to join Queer Eye cast: ‘I’m really good at failing’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.