Bobby Berk Remains ‘Amicable’ with His “Queer Eye ”Castmates After Leaving the Show: Source (Exclusive)

The interior designer also has a “handful of projects” in the works

Bobby Berk remains friendly with his former Queer Eye castmates.

On Monday, the 42-year-old interior design expert announced his departure from the Netflix series.

“Bobby’s departure is unrelated to relationships with his castmates," a source close to the situation exclusively tells PEOPLE. "The parting was amicable.”

For the past eight seasons, Berk has joined castmates Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness for the unscripted makeover series. The Queer Eye reboot launched in 2018, with episodes featuring the Fab Five traveling across the U.S.

The source exclusively confirms with PEOPLE that Berk “has a handful of projects in development and is also busy with his own company.”

The insider adds that Berk and Brown still remain close friends, saying, “Karamo and Bobby have always been very close, and Karamo has been completely supportive of Bobby."

After Berk announced his plans to leave the series, Brown shared his own tribute to his costar on Instagram with a series of photos of Berk.

“With todays announcement date of the new Season (8) of Queer Eye… My heart is broken that season 8 will be @bobby’s last on Queer Eye! He is magic in what he designs and how he makes us all feel. #ForeverTheFab5,” he wrote.

The Queer Eye decor guru penned a heartfelt letter to “the Queer Eye Community who have become family to me” on Monday as he announced he will exit the series following the upcoming season.

Related: Bobby Berk Talks Debut Book, All About the Connection Between Home Design and Mental Health (Exclusive)

“The love that I have received from you all over the last 6 years has been absolutely surreal,” he wrote, alongside a series of photos with his costars and the show’s past heroes.

“You have tuned in and been dedicated fans and together we were able to share the healing powers of design," Berk continued. "I learned from you all about kindness, love and acceptance and that has changed my life for the better. The way you have embraced me and accepted me for who I am is something that l will truly carry with me for the rest of my life.”

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The co-host also praised the show’s “wonderful, loving, amazing, and brave” heroes. “It’s all because of you that I’ve kept going all these years and each and every one of you have changed me for the better. I’m so very proud of all of you!”

Berk added, “Being able to help guide you to find the best version of yourselves is something I never took for granted and never will.”

Queer Eye is now streaming on Netflix, with season eight premiering on Jan. 24.

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