All About Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s Relationship

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent are a dynamic duo on- and off-screen.

The designer couple are best known for starring on the hit HGTV series Nate & Jeremiah by Design and The Nate and Jeremiah Home Project and have given many glimpses of their love story over the years.

After tying the knot in 2014 at the New York Public Library, the couple has since welcomed two children, a daughter named Poppy and a son named Oskar.

“We are each other’s biggest cheerleader,” Brent, who recently joined the cast of Queer Eye, previously told PEOPLE about their long-lasting marriage. 

As Brent embarks on his journey as a member of the Queer Eye cast following Bobby Berk’s departure from the series, here’s everything to know about Berkus and Brent’s relationship. 

Their first date was antique shopping

Though the couple ran in similar circles, sparks didn’t fly until years after their first meeting. “To be honest, Nate had a serious boyfriend the first time [we met]. I had a lot of boyfriends. The timing was just never really right like that,” Brent told HGTV about why they didn’t initially get together. 

It wasn’t until about three years later that they reconnected at Rachel Zoe’s birthday party in New York City. During the party, Berkus approached Brent about going antique shopping, and the rest is history. 

“I was sitting in a brown leather chair and we were just talking. And I remember thinking to myself, oh God, what is this? This is not what I thought it was,” Brent recalled of their first date. “There was something about him that, in his presence, I just felt so safe.”

“I would say it was within 15 minutes. I’ll never forget it,” Berkus added. “It wasn’t because of the conversation, it was just this huge energy shift and we both felt it at the same time.”

Nate proposed at Machu Picchu

Less than a year after their first date, Berkus popped the question in Peru atop the famed Machu Picchu in April 2013. “I’ve known since our first date that Jeremiah was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” Berkus later told PEOPLE about their engagement. 

Their wedding was a historic moment 

On May 4, 2014, Berkus and Brent tied the knot at the New York Public Library, becoming the first same-sex couple to hold their wedding at the iconic New York landmark.

The wedding was officiated by Sheri Salata, the former co-president of Oprah Winfrey Network, and featured 220 guests, including their longtime friend Oprah Winfrey, Rachael Ray, Katie Lee, Rebecca Minkoff, Irene Neuwirth, Busy Philipps and Elizabeth Hendrickson from The Young and the Restless.

They have two children together 

Since tying the knot, the couple has welcomed two children together, a daughter named Poppy and a son named Oskar. Speaking with PEOPLE in May 2022, Brent said he thought he was never going to have kids until he met Berkus. 

“Within 10 minutes, I wanted to create a life and a family with him,” he explained. “And it was the first time that I really believed that we could and I could. He was the first person that made me feel safe enough to go, ‘Okay, we can do this together.’ ”

They welcomed their daughter Poppy Brent-Berkus via surrogate on March 23, 2015. “We are so excited to finally be a family of 3! As anyone with a newborn knows, we have our work cut out for us but couldn’t be happier to be embarking on this life changing journey that is parenthood,” Berkus wrote on Facebook at the time of her birth. 

Their son, ​​Oskar Michael Brent-Berkus, was born via surrogate on March 26, 2018. The couple chose the name Oskar to honor Berkus’ former partner Fernando Bengoechea, who died tragically in the 2004 Sri Lankan tsunami; Oskar was Bengoechea’s middle name.

“We have always honored Fernando’s memory in our relationship. He’s a part of our love story,” Brent told PEOPLE. “It’s such an important chapter in Nate’s life. So the idea that we can honor his memory in a beautiful way was exciting to us.”

As a family, Brent and Berkus have created holiday traditions, including one that revolves around a certain food that Brent makes every year.

“My husband Jeremiah actually has a rotating recipe thing. I am the eater in our house, and I’m in charge of the dishwasher,” Berkus told Good Housekeeping in December 2024. “One tradition that Jeremiah started over 10 years ago — and we’ve been married 10 years — was that he makes this jalapeño-glazed ham, which is the most delicious thing I’ve ever had. I eat it for days after the holidays.” 

They are each other’s biggest cheerleaders

Being in the same industry, Brent and Berkus always strive to support each other in their respective careers. “Listen, I’m 13 years younger and I had just started [my career] when we met. My design firm was a complete mess, I was taking on any project I could,” Brent recalled to PEOPLE about his career beginnings. “But I’ve always stayed the course in wanting to make sure that I really carved out my own existence within ours as a family, and Nate’s always been the best supporter.”

“I don’t know what works for everybody else, but I do know what works for us is we are each other’s biggest cheerleader. We’re in the same industry, and it could, for a lot of people, be really complicated,” Brent added of their relationship. “But we’ve always supported each other. We also stay out of each other’s way. And we really just like each other.”

Greenwich Village has played a big role in their love story

Berkus and Brent call New York City their home, with Greenwich Village specifically playing a special role in their love story. The couple first moved into their beloved Fifth Avenue home in 2013, just a year before the designers got married. 

In 2016, they sold the apartment and moved to Los Angeles where they renovated a stunning Spanish Colonial villa. However, after three years on the West Coast, they realized their home was N.Y.C. 

Though they lived in the West Village for two years after leaving L.A., their Fifth Avenue abode fatefully popped back onto the market (and they quickly jumped on the opportunity to buy back their “forever home”). 

“Most people let go, but this house for us was so much more than just a home. It was a symbol of a specific time in our life, not only professionally … but I remember sitting in that house and imagining this big life together, whether it was children or writing vows for our wedding or dinner parties,” Brent told PEOPLE about the home’s special significance. “The house had seen us survive so much tragedy as well, so there’s all those echoes in there.”