Today, he’s a reality TV star and podcast host that has conquered his demons and found his place in the world. 

But back when he was 12, he didn’t feel as though he belonged and feared he would be misunderstood if he were to be his true self. 

This star is now known for their hairstyling prowess and stars on one of the biggest shows where he helps conduct life-changing makeovers. 

However he got candid about his childhood fears as he shared a throwback pH๏τo of himself at age 12.

In the pH๏τo, the future star wore a blue T-shirt, jeans, and several necklaces as he posed by a bike.   

Can you guess who it is? 

This star is now known for their hairstyling prowess and stars on one of the biggest shows where he helps conduct life-changing makeovers. 

It’s Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. 

Van Ness is now releasing a book enтιтled Let Them Star, and on Thursday shared the throwback pH๏τo along with a meaningful message about the page-turner and the limitations he perceived about his hometown as a child. 

‘This is 12 year old Jonathan. He didn’t see a possibility of staying in his hometown after high school.

‘He didn’t see a place where he could build a community that would see and accept him for who we was,’ he continued.

‘He wasn’t able to see a world where small towns celebrated and lifted queer people.

‘This 12-year-old Jonathan would escape in the fantasies of Casper, Harriet the Spy and Now & Then.

‘I wrote Let Them State for not just this Jonathan, but for the millions of other people who have felt like they don’t belong or can’t see a future for themselves where they are.’

He continued: ‘I want this Jonathan and all people (young and of all ages) to see themselves in Sully, and in this book.

It’s Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy 

He also shared this childhood pH๏τo to his account back in 2023

‘I want them to not only see but believe that no matter where they are, there can not only survive, but thrive.

He concluded: ‘That Quincy, Illinois is home for this 12-year-old Jonathan and always will be. And he doesn’t have to run away to feel accepted for who he is.’

The book Van Ness wrote is called Let Them Stare and it hits bookstore shelves on May 20. 

Previously, Van Ness, 38, who is nonbinary but uses all pronouns, blasted a bombshell Rolling Stone report which had claimed that they were emotionally ‘abusive’ on set of the reality series as not being ‘based in reality.’

They appeared on the Table Manners With Jessie And Lennie Ware podcast last summer and said: ‘I think a lot of people were like looking for a reason to hate me or like looking for a reason to be like, “See, I always knew that they were a fake c*** and this is the proof.”‘

Van Ness’ heartfelt message encompᴀssed multiple slides in the post

‘He didn’t see a place where he could build a community that would see and accept him for who we was,’ he continued

Jonathan’s book will hit bookstores on May 20; Seen here at the 2025 Golden Globes

Jonathan thanked the support system they had while saying they tried to keep off of social media during that period.

The reality star explained: ‘My family was so supportive of my husband and my team, but I didn’t even get on social media or, like, look at my phone for three weeks.’

Jonathan said their castmates first learned of the expose back in December 2023 and they claimed that a lot of the information that had been gathered was ‘taken out of context’ in order to make them look ‘as bad as possible.’

They said: ‘I think people forget no matter how famous you are you’re still a person.

‘That article came at like an incredibly vulnerable time, like for my hair care company, for like my whole career. It just was really rough.’

Jonathan went on to completely the article as being ‘completely untrue’ and alleged that it was done ‘in bad faith.’

However they did admit that there may have been some times when they had snapped at people or ‘could have done better.’

The bombshell report Jonathan was responding to was published by Rolling Stone in March 2024. 

‘I wrote Let Them State for not just this Jonathan, but for the millions of other people who have felt like they don’t belong or can’t see a future for themselves where they are.’ Seen here January 3, 2025

He continued: ‘I want this Jonathan and all people (young and of all ages) to see themselves in Sully, and in this book.’ Seen here February 6, 2025

‘I want them to not only see but believe that no matter where they are, there can not only survive, but thrive. Seen here January 5, 2025

According to multiple production sources, who all spoke to the publication anonymously, Van Ness made the show increasingly difficult to produce due to his behind-the-scenes behavior.

They were accused of being ’emotionally abusive’, having ‘rage issues’, and being a ‘nightmare.’

‘There’s a real emotion of fear around them when they get angry. It’s almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them,’ claimed one source.

‘It’s intense and scary,’ they added, further claiming that Van Ness was a ‘yeller’ who would ‘explode once a week’.

One source said that Van Ness has a ‘very warm, very charismatic’ side to their personality which is what the public sees, but there’s another side that comes out behind the scenes.

‘At least once a day, they would need to yell at somebody. It might be something small, but there’s always going to be somebody to point out and blame and make the villain of the day,’ they alleged.

Rolling Stone also claimed that the Queer Eye cast were engaged in ‘petty disputes and compeтιтion’ with each other over screen time and who was the ‘top star’ on the show.

Queer Eye, starring Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Van Ness, premiered on Netflix in 2018 and immediately became a pop culture phenomenon.

He concluded: ‘That Quincy, Illinois is home for this 12-year-old Jonathan and always will be. And he doesn’t have to run away to feel accepted for who he is.’  Seen here in 2025

Not only does Van Ness have the most social media followers of the group, they have published three books -including a New York Times bestseller- and launched the hit podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness. Seen here in February 2025

While each cast member has gone on to find success on their own terms, Van Ness was arguably the breakout star of the series.

Not only does Van Ness have the most social media followers of the group, they have published three books -including a New York Times bestseller- and launched the hit podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.

The podcast was turned into its own standalone Netflix series in 2022.

Van Ness also has a successful haircare line called JVN, which is stocked in Sephora.