The Real Reason Jonathan Van Ness Left New York City

Was there ever a show that satisfied fans' craving for entertainment and heartfelt connection quite so well as Queer Eye? The Netflix reboot, based on the Bravo hit, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, gave us the fab five and we are eternally grateful. Viewers met and are obsessed with Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Tan France, and of course, Jonathan Van Ness. There's just so much to know and love when it comes to this grouping.

Van Ness is a hairstylist by trade, according to Delish, but he's also so much more. Not only is he an essential part of Queer Eye, he was also a star of Gay of Thrones, a gig that earned him an Emmy nomination, per the outlet. With so much going for Van Ness, it made sense that he was living in New York City since it's the concrete jungle of hopes and dreams. But Van Ness ended up moving from New York to an unexpected location. 

So where did Van Ness to and why? We detail the star's journey after the jump.

Jonathan Van Ness was living and thriving in New York City but moseyed down to Austin, Texas because Queer Eye was filming there. However, the coronavirus pandemic halted production, so JVN decided to quarantine there at an Airbnb. He ended up falling in love with Austin, and so he decided to move from New York City. In an interview with Self, Van Ness explained, "I didn't expect to fall in love with Austin as much when we came here for shooting."

JVN added, "And then we came, and everything shut down. I had my four cats and was on this lake at an Airbnb, and I was like, Do I love Austin? Is this a liberal bastion in Texas? And it kind of is. I started exploring and was like, Oh, my God, I want to move here. Then I found a house, and I loved it."

It's clear that Van Ness is having a great time in Austin because his Instagram feed is full of gardening shots and videos of him romping in the great outdoors. New York no doubt misses this iconic stylist but Texas is lucky to have him!