I want FOUR KIDS MINIMUM
Tan France may be one fifth of the Fab Five, but he’s 100 per cent fabulous all by himself
It seems unbelievable that the rebooted Queer Eye only sashayed back into our lives two years ago, when it has not only changed our existence for the better as one of most uplifting shows on TV, but also managed to make its hosts – the “Fab Five” – huge stars in their own right. And we couldn’t be prouder of the fact that one fifth of those fabulous boys is a homegrown star. Born and raised in Doncaster, Tan France is the fashion superhero who got us all French tucking our tops into our jeans within the space of one empowering episode. As well as seeing him in the feel-good lifestyle makeover show (a sensitive reboot of the more problematic 2003 version), Tan fans can also catch him hosting the style reality show Next In Fashion on Netflix, alongside Alexa Chung. And then there’s his new book, Naturally Tan, in which the 36 year old speaks candidly about his strict Muslim upbringing as well as his rise to fame. Here he gives a little insight into rebellious teenage Tan, TV star Tan and devoted husband Tan. We want to be BFFS with every single one…
You’re very candid in the book – is there anything else you wish you’d included? The simple answer is no. I poured my heart and soul into this book. There are a couple of stories that I could have added, but I do value some privacy – and before Queer Eye, I was actually a very private person. I didn’t have public social media accounts with thousands upon thousands of followers. Is there anything you regret sharing? Actually – and this is the first time I’m saying this – I did start to think about this a couple of days ago. We use the word representation a lot. I do it, because there aren’t that many people who look like me on TV. And I wondered if I was doing my people a disservice by talking about representation. Maybe it’s time to just “be” and that is all that is necessary. Just by being visible, just by being myself, by being authentic, maybe that is representation, you know? Did you let anyone in your family read your book first? No. I purposely didn’t let anybody read it because I didn’t want them to tell me they were upset by one story in particular. I didn’t want them to try and get me to take it out before the book came out. It’s nothing really bad – it’s a story from when I was 17. I’m not going to give too much away, because I truly do want people to read the book – I went to New York and didn’t tell anyone in my family. I lied and told them that I was going somewhere else across town, but really I took an international trip. And, after working on that chapter, I just thought, “If my kids… if you think for
a second that I will let you get away with that shit, I will annihilate you.” [Laughs.] You talk about how strict your family were – is there anything you would want to do differently as a parent? That’s a good question. I really felt stifled by the career options that were available to me – doctor, lawyer or engineer. Wonderful if you want to spend the rest of your life having to continue to study, but I hated studying and that shit was boring as f**k. And, let me tell you this, I was a smart kid. I actually did really well in school. But I wish my parents had given me the freedom to express my creativity. They really didn’t want me to study fashion. I wish that they would just have let me go into fashion. If it were my kids, if they want to be creative, why not be creative? Because you can be just as successful in a creative job. What was it that made you want to work in fashion? When I was a kid, I used to work at my dad and granddad’s denim factory. Not work-work, but in the summer holidays I would go to see him. And he had this incredible denim factory, and I learnt how to make jeans and denim jackets and stuff. And I always thought, “I really want to do that when I’m older.” And I used to tell him, “I’m going to be a machinist when I’m older”, thinking, “God, that must be the most incredible job and pay really well, because you’re creating clothes that people wear.” It does not pay well. [Laughs.] It clearly inspired you, though… Definitely, because I decided, when I was older, that I wanted to create clothes. Can I tell you one quick story that is in the book, so I’m not going to give too much away about it? Please do… I was meant to study psychology at university. I told my parents – my sister had already graduated – and so I was like, “OK, I’ll do that. That’s something that they are going to be proud of.” Even though I did not want to do it, I just wanted to keep them quiet – they were constantly nagging at me. Brown parents are really naggy – I love them, but my gosh. But after about six months, I realised, “Holy shit, this sucks so hard.” And so I dropped out and signed up for fashion college. Didn’t tell them. And then, three-and-a-half years later, I was graduating, and I said, “Alright, let’s go for my graduation.” On the way, I said, “By the way, I’m not going to graduate in psychology!” Was that more or less difficult than introducing them to your husband Rob? Actually, introducing them to him was easier, because I’d already told them I was gay. I came out when I was 16. So, it was easier to say, “Hey, I’ve finally found somebody.” Coming out was harder, because in my community, I didn’t know anyone who was gay. In the Western culture, there were a few gay people, but in my community, you do not talk about that. So, that was super-hard. The way I did it was by telling one family member at a time and then recruiting them to help me tell the next one. Very manipulative. Is it true you and Rob dated long distance for a while? Six years long distance. Wow… So, if you come at me and say, “Oh, it’s so hard to date, they’re 50 minutes away…” I’m like, “Shut up!” We have the luxury these days of having Facetime. You can make it work. And I can tell you this – when you take sex out of the equation, it’s amazing how lovely your relationship can become. You get to know them on this purely emotional basis. By the time we actually were able to live together, I knew him better than I’ve ever known anyone on the planet. How did the relationship change after you got married? Immediately after we got married, we went for high tea and I remember sitting there thinking, “I feel this overwhelming sense of
security like I’ve never felt before.” I knew that he was my person and I didn’t go into this lightly. I knew that, whoever I married, it would be forever. I come from a community where divorce really isn’t a thing, when you get married, you get married for life. And so I remember thinking that day, “Gosh, this is truly now my person for life.” And, truly, it got better and better every day. You guys are too cute! He’s perfect. We’re such nerds. Marry a nerd, I say. Rob’s hot, don’t get me wrong, and he got hotter at 40 – he got super-ripped! I’m really pissed off about it. What’s driving me insane is that I love cake more than anyone you will ever meet, and I’m not embarrassed by it. I’m on the road a lot with Queer Eye, so I don’t always get to work out as much as I’d like. And Rob decided to pull the ultimate dick move, when he was about to turn 40, he got so ripped. I was like, “You vile bitch! Before, when you were just a regular person, I could eat cake in bed and not feel bad about it.” But now he’ll come home and he’s like, “Oh, is that more cake?” while he’s munching on half an apple. He’s such a dick!
You’ve previously said that before Queer Eye came along you were planning to retire. Really? At the ripe old age of 33? Yes. When I was younger, I swore to my mum… Going back to the story about not telling her I was going to fashion college – she was so disappointed, and I told her, “I know that your other children are a success academically, but if you will allow me to just do this, I promise you, I’m going to prove my worth and I will be your most successful child.” And that was it. I promise you that wasn’t an arrogant statement. I just thought if you are the first person to do something in your family and you know that you’re going against the grain, you’d better prove that you can do it, otherwise you’ll end up as the punchline for everyone else in your extended family. And so, yeah, I really felt like I needed to prove my worth. I wanted to do enough to build my own company [he launched a hugely successful clothing line called Kingdom & State, which includes women’s clothing that meets Mormon dress guidelines], so that I could retire by the age of 40. Thankfully, things went really well! What were you planning to do in your retirement? I don’t think I would have just given work up – I would have consulted. But, really, I want children more than anything in the world and no matter what this life affords me, I always feel like I’m missing the most important thing in my life, which is children. I want to have four minimum. Minimum? Yeah – that is not a joke! Rob has seven siblings, I have four – we come from very large families. I love a big family and I love my siblings so much. The vibe in our house was always beautiful. And so my plan was to just raise my children and be a stable stay-at-home dad. ■
Naturally Tan (Virgin Books) is available to buy in paperback on 16 April