Netflix's hit show Queer Eye returned to our screens on 15 March, with the Fab Five heading to Kansas City, Missouri to meet the residents in desperate need of a makeover. In the show's second episode, the team met Joey, a camp leader with a serious case of Peter Pan syndrome and desperate to reconnect with his son after a battle with alcohol addiction. Fans of the show were surprised to see Antoni Porowski, Queer Eye's resident food expert, talk about his own "intimate relationship" with addiction.
Antoni opened up about his struggle
"When my life was like a complete mess and when I was trying to come out of it, food was always a way where I made myself feel better," he revealed to Joey. "Dealing with addiction, I didn't care about myself so I definitely didn't care about anybody else. When I came out of it, it was suddenly like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm getting up early in the morning: not because I'm up from the night before but because I genuinely want to.'"
As Antoni taught the camp leader how to connect to his son through food, the 35-year-old TV personality was overwhelmed by Joey's journey to recovery. "To see a man like Joey who worked on himself, who cleaned himself up, who is a kind, passionate, loving dude," he said. "He's already an example to every single person that gets to meet him at that camp."
Queer Eye is back on Netflix for series three
The new season of Queer Eye consists of eight episodes and sees the Fab Five makeover their first duo and first lesbian. The show, which is a reboot of noughties programme 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy', launched on Netflix in 2019 to critical acclaim. The show won three Emmy Awards and has been praised for its diverse casting and ability to discuss hard hitting political issues, with the second and third seasons of the show taking place in the Trump-supporting states Georgia and Missouri.