I’ve already finished watching season two of Queer Eye and I am already eagerly awaiting the next season (get on this, Netflix). The QE guys, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk and Jonathan Van Ness, have been all over the internet, sharing advice and changing lives. And my biggest takeaway from all of this is how much I adore Jonathan Van Ness.

Queer Eye’s resident grooming expert was the subject of a fantastic, in-depth interview by Wealth Simple for their “Money Diaries” series. If you’re a fan, this article, with the so-Jonathan headline, “I’m a girl who has to stop herself from shopping,” is a must read. The 31-year-old stylist shares tales of his childhood, his family and how he eventually got into hairdressing, for which he now charges $250 for a haircut. Yikes. Here are some of the highlights. I dare you not to fall in love with Jonathan, if you haven’t already.

On his brief time in college:
I enrolled at the University of Arizona. I had a partial scholarship for cheerleading and I studied Political Science, but only for a semester. I got a 1.7 [GPA] and was put on academic probation, which kind of sucked, but I never took it super seriously or went back to class after that. You see, The Golden Girls and The Nanny were on from 7 in the morning ’till 1 in the afternoon on Lifetime and that’s when all my classes were and that just didn’t work for me.

On his first hair dye experience:
The first time I ever colored my hair I decided to bypass the chores because I was terrible at using the lawn mower and because I knew [my parents] would never let me do it. Instead, I spent months siphoning quarters off of my stepdad’s bedside table until I had the $18 it cost to buy a box of that beautiful Garnier Feria bright red boxed hair color. I was like 14 and I did it by myself.

How his web series, Gay of Thrones, came to be:
My friend Erin Gibson — who is the co-host of this amazing podcast, Throwing Shade — was in my chair and I was doing her hair and I did, like, an accidental high-energy recap of Game of Thrones. We were having a gay old time and she was like, “We need to make this into a thing.” She was a director for Funny or Die and so she pitched it to them and they were like, “Okay. We don’t get it, but okay.”

On his Queer Eye audition:
I think they had like a thousand reels — a thousand gays for five spots aren’t great odds. It was difficult. They were like, “Come in for this weekend-long chemistry audition where we’ll have you just kind of hang out with everyone,” and it was basically a hundred gays mingling each other to death. It was like being on Fire Island except all of us were vying to be America’s Next Top Model. You can only imagine.

On the cast’s equal pay:
When the boys and I were cast we banded together and made sure we got paid the same thing. I’m really into that part of our story. We’re homies. We’d all feel so resentful if one of us was getting more or less than the others. It would create a very, like, not cool work environment.

The bottom line:
I feel like everything I’ve accomplished has been passion-driven and not money-driven, and that’s why I am where I am. But I’m also aware that this industry will chew you up and spit you out if you’re too nice. So I’m trying to find the balance.

[From Wealth Simple]

Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan…you are such a magical creature and I adore you. Anyone who offers the advice, “If you’re feeling a little down, you’re never fully dressed without a strong heel” is a-okay in my book. Now the waiting begins for the next season of QE. I am volunteering myself if you need a new “she-ro” in Atlanta. Call me.

“I’m feeling snatched” @itsdougthepug

A post shared by Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) on May 11, 2018 at 9:26am PDT

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

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