HGTV star Bobby Berk has fulfilled a lifelong dream.
The “Junk or Jackpot” star opened up about a difficult period in his life and how the opening of his Casa Mallorca helped him rewrite his story.
Berk’s Dream Come True
“I left home at 15. For years, I didn’t have anywhere that felt safe to land,” the former “Queer Eye” star shared via Instagram on Monday, November 2. “Maybe that’s why I’ve spent my whole career helping other people feel at home. On Queer Eye. In my book. In every house l’ve ever touched. But I always dreamed of going further. Of building a place where people could actually stay, slow down, and come back to themselves.”
He added, “That place is Camena Collective. Casa Tierra was the first chapter. Casa Mallorca is the dream fully realized. Eleven bedrooms, a spa, a yoga studio, a pool made for long afternoons, and quiet corners for the conversations you keep putting off.”
Berk is hoping to turn his Camena Collective into a place that brings people together, to rest, to gather, and to feel at home.
“Bring the people you love. Or the ones you’ve lost touch with,” he wrote.
Fans were quick to flood the designer with comfort and love.
“In my own experience, I think people who grew up feeling unsettled or without true comfort and stability often go on to make the warmest, loveliest homes. ❤️,” one follower wrote.
“You deserve all the good things 💕,” another shared.
Berk’s Upbringing
The former Netflix star has been open about the challenges he faced during childhood, including leaving a religious upbringing and being adopted.
“I experienced the hate and the ignorance, and it’s scary,” Berk said during a season 1 episode of “Queer Eye,” per Springfield News-Leader. “My mother and father were very religious. We went to an Assemblies of God church. You know, brimstone, fire. I carried my Bible to school every day. I was the lead singer of a Christian rock band. I was a deacon in my children’s church. Christianity was my life.”
During a 2022 appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” Berk explained his decision to run away from home at age 15.
“So at 15 I realized I was gay, and I knew that coming out of my hometown was not an option but I also knew that wearing that face that mask every single day of being a different person was, you know—suicide unfortunately is the highest rate of killing in LGBTQ youth, highest rate of death,” he shared. “So I knew I got had to get out. I knew I had to go out there and be my true self so I went to the Big Town of Springfield, Missouri.”
He went on to share a bit of advice to youth who find themselves in similar situations, saying, “You do belong.”
“Just because you may not belong in the moment that you’re in, you will find that moment,” Berk said. “I never felt like I belonged where I grew up, but I do now.”
HGTV Star Bobby Berk Opens Up About Fulfilling His Lifelong ‘Dream’ After Leaving Home at 15