Queer Eye’s Tan France admits he has to hide his sexuality when travelling

Queer Eye’s fashion icon Tan France has opened up about his experiences on the Netflix reboot and his travelling habits — including having to hide his sexuality.

It’s been pretty hard to miss the now iconic reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

The Netflix show landed on our screens last month and the eight-episode series was a roller coaster of emotions that has left fans desperate for more.

Tan France, the fashion designer and true heartthrob of the all-new Fab 5, recently opened up about travelling as a married gay man and his hopes for the show.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 07: (L-R) Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, and Karamo Brown attend Netflix's Queer Eye premiere screening and after party on February 7, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Netflix)

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“As a gay man, there are certain places that I avoid. When I go to China, I lie and pretend I’m not married, which is really sad—I leave my ring at home,” France said in an interview with Conde Nast.

“But I’m not willing to risk my safety in a country that could cause me no end of problems or where it’s illegal to be gay.

“I’m very aware of the places I can travel to safely and where I cannot.”

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Related: Queer Eye fan Bon Jovi stopped fashion guru Tan France to ask for a selfie

Tan and Rob France (Photo: robfranceillustration / Instagram)

Queer Eye – which originally ran on Bravo from 2003 – 2007 – features five gay men who each have their own area of expertise as they work to solve the problems of one straight man per episode.

The show has been widely praised since its return for going further than the stereotypes the show used to promote, and finding a format with heart and soul.

Tan France is more than aware of the power of the show and praised it for its depth and warmth as well as the representation the show offers.

He said: “For me, the show was so much than just ‘I want to make things pretty’ or ‘I want to put someone in a floral shirt.’ I have a very specific agenda on this show, and that’s showing people that I’m just as worthy of love as my white counterparts—my white, straight counterparts.”

“When I go into these conversations with these men, it’s to educate them on who I am. To say, ‘I’m just the same as you.’

“Yes, I know I’m gayer; yes, I know I’ve got a different skin colour. Yes, I know I’m a certain religion. Yes, I know I’m an immigrant. But look at all the similarities we have.”

(Photo: tanfrance/instagram)

In the interview, France also hinted that more details about the eagerly awaited second series of Queer Eye would be revealed next month.

He said: “Netflix is so tight about this stuff but there’s a good reason why they don’t tell us: none of us can keep a secret.

“They keep telling us “You can’t say this” and then the next week it comes out that one of us has told someone, and they can’t figure out which one of us it was.

“However, they do say that at the end of next month we’ll have a definitive answer.”

All episodes of Queer Eye season one are currently available on Netflix.

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