I'm not ashamed to say that I'm completely obsessed with Queer Eye. It's quite possibly the most hopeful and cathartic TV show for our current political climate. It's so easy to watch the news or read the headlines and lose hope, but Queer Eye’s message of connecting across all divides is humanizing and powerful. I'm also obsessed with the Fab Five, of course, so when they let slip little details of their personal lives, like in episode two of season two when we learned how Tan France knew Rob France was the one, well, it just gives me life. It also made me want to know everything about their love!
It's actually a really amazing story, fit for a Queer Eye episode, in that it bridges what many might think to be a insurmountable divide, specifically religion. Tan is a Muslim immigrant from Britain and Rob is a Wyoming-born Mormon cowboy and illustrator living in Utah, which is not exactly the pairing you would expect to work. But when the two reportedly met on a dating app, they quickly realized they had found the one. They've now been together for 10 years, married for eight of those years, and are planning to start their family. What can I say? They're totally couple #goals. But how did Tan know they were meant to be? Well, here's what he's said about his hubs over the years.
One of the running themes on Queer Eye is about how people, seemingly so different, are actually more alike than they are dissimilar. The same proved true for Tan and Rob, who, despite being from different religions, found common ground and compatibility thanks to the similar lifestyles of Mormons and Muslims. As Tan told the New York Post,
“It made it easier to date somebody who had similarities to me. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke,” said France, citing qualities both their faiths share. “We practice some of our religions’ practices. We don’t practice them all. We practice what works for us.”
Prior to meeting Rob, Tan called New York City home, but his roommate at the time was from Utah and they would travel there to visit regularly. Tan fell in love with Salt Lake City and felt like he would love to live there, but when he met Rob, Tan told The Salt Lake Tribune that he knew then that it was time for a move to the Beehive State, saying “We started to date and then, yeah, I realized he was the one very shortly after that. So I planned on Utah being my home."
It didn’t take long for the couple to realize that they wanted to spend their lives together, so they got engaged — sort of. On episode two of season two of Queer Eye, Tan described his non-proposal to his shocked fellow cast members.
“You know there wasn’t an actual proposal. It was a case of, ‘we're going to get married one day, right?’ ‘Yeah of course we are,'” said Tan, adding, “We just had agreed it was going to happen one day and then we arranged the date."
The couple are also eager to start their family together via surrogacy, and, as Tan told the Press Association, it’s going to be a big one.
“I truly do want six. I will settle for minimum four. And no, six is not loads. It’s just enough,” France told the Press Association. He added, “I think that what we do well on the show, or what Netflix did well, was cast five people who are incredibly outspoken and opinionated and vocal and I am one of those people and I feel privileged to be in a position where I get to talk about what I want to do. And if I want to have children I want to talk about it and nobody can say it’s wrong and get away with it. I think that just by the nature of our show and by the nature of who I am, I think that helps lend a light and shine a light on a method that isn’t discussed as often as it should should be.”
It turns out we have Rob to thank for our favorite silver-haired fashion guru even appearing on the show. As Tan told The Mirror:
"When I was first offered the show there was a time when I thought I was actually going to say 'I don't want to do it' before we started filming because I felt so much pressure. When I speak, I don't speak for myself, I don't have the luxury of a Caucasian to be able to speak for myself. I speak for a whole community and I represent so many different communities that that felt like a lot of pressure. But my husband is wonderful and he reminded me that if it's not me, who? If it's not now, then when? And so I feel like it's perfectly appropriate that we now have representation and that I am that person."
What did I tell you? Tan and Rob are couple goals, and such a powerful reminder that love truly is love, regardless of race, gender, or religion. I can’t wait to see the beautiful family they create together — and hopefully lots and lots of more seasons of Queer Eye.
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