With the rumors surrounding the filming of Queer Eye, it’s hard to tell if the reality show is even real. While the core tenets of the show seem legitimate, there are some glaring set-ups that may hint at a potential script. Examining the mechanics of the show reveals a wrench or two in the unscripted story that the Fab Five fiercely defend in interviews and online. Many of the touching emotional conversations seem real, but other things about the show feel fishy.

Related: Queer Eye Season 8: Everything We Know

10 The Heroes Are Just Pretending To Be Surprised

Lovers of the old and new Queer Eye alike will recognize the moment at the start of each episode when the Fab Five pop out to surprise the hero with their life makeover. It’s a great moment full of shock, laughs, and TV drama. There’s just one problem: the heroes have known about the makeover for weeks. They’ve already signed a shooting contract, agreed to a schedule, and waited around on set for the cameras to roll. After all, it would be nearly impossible for a guest on the show not to notice the equipment lying around their house.

9 Even The Loft Isn’t Real

Another familiar facade for Queer Eye viewers is the loft. It's the home base for Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan and Karamo Brown while they stay on location for makeovers. The show is edited to make it seem like the Fab Five are actually spending the night together in the loft, but this is just an illusion. The Fab Five have never stayed together, according to San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. Apparently, the leads actually each get separate hotel rooms. This is reportedly so they can have space apart after spending all day working together.

8 Bobby Berk May Barely Be Involved In The Renovations

A big sticking point for the show being unscripted is the renovation. While it seems possible that Jonathan Van Ness could dye someone's hair or Antoni Porowski could cook some vegetables in less than a week, it’s almost unthinkable that Bobby Berk could redesign a whole house in a few days. Well, that’s because there’s a chance he doesn’t. There’s actually a staff of 20–30 workers who churn out the renovation while Bobby films with the hero. There’s even a head production designer, who has worked on Extreme Home Makeovers, for drawing up design plans. According to an interview with Architectural Digest, Bobby said most of what he does is “pick the direction we're going for and order the main pieces of furniture.”

7 The Renovations Might Not Be Real, Anyway

Even if Bobby Berk could do the design as quickly as the show makes it seem, eagle-eyed viewers have noticed that renovations might not be real, anyway. Social media posts and interviews have revealed some heroes undoing their supposedly permanent remodels and setting everything back to where it was before. There have even been reports that heroes, notably AJ from season 1, sold their homes. AJ purportedly signed off on the sale the day after filming, leading to speculation that he never intended to keep the redesign. Perhaps some of the renovations are actually just for TV.

6 The Product Placement Is Pushy

It doesn’t take an expert to spot the product placement in Queer Eye. The show has allegedly been a proponent of product placement for years. After all, the core of the program is gifting home decor, clothing, and furniture. According to Distractify, companies like Amazon, IKEA, and Lacoste have offered money for their products to appear on the show. In a positive spin, it does seem like the show also uses this logo placement to promote small local businesses.

5 Antoni May Not Be A Real Chef

Antoni Porowski is a much-adored member of the Fab Five. He’s supposed to be their expert in food and wine but is allegedly not a chef. Antoni never went to culinary school, instead telling Into The Gloss that he studied psychology. His recipes are sometimes criticized for barely being recipes. According to Junkee, he “literally places cut avocado next to slices of cut grapefruit and pretends it's a salad!” Others have suggested that Antoni just parrots recipes from producers, with The New Yorker saying, “Antoni spends the show making recipes that verge on the remedial.”

4 You Don’t Need To Be An Expert To Be In The Fab Five

Speaking of Antoni’s lack of culinary training, many have wondered how he got the job in the first place. While many of the Fab Five auditioned for the show based on their professional experience, it’s come out that Antoni was actually the personal assistant to the original food and wine expert Ted Allen. Some have speculated that this is how he got the gig. Another much-loved cast member, Tan , didn’t even audition for the show. Tan said to Entertainment Tonight that he didn't want to audition, but producers pursued him because of his large social media following.

3 There’s Too Much Focus On Fake Moments

The heart of Queer Eye is the emotional and cathartic conversations around self-confidence that arise between the heroes and the Fab Five. It's hard to imagine those moments are scripted, but they’re a very brief part of the episodes. Karamo Brown has said that he wishes more of those conversations were shared in the editing of the series, according to Insider. Instead, there’s a lot of screen time devoted to what viewers could peg as potentially fake, like product placement of fancy foods. For a show that bills itself an emotional redux of life, the makeovers are surprisingly focused on gifting material objects and a more wealthy aesthetic.

2 The Show Acknowledges That Some Moments Are Clearly Staged

Some viewers were unhappy after a moment in season 1 where the show set up the Fab Five to be pulled over by a police officer. A cautious Karamo, presumably conscious of his interactions with a police officer as a black man, was at the wheel. He was relieved to hear that the cop was actually the best friend of that week's hero and had been instructed to pull the car over as a gag. This stunt was obviously scripted by production and placed unnecessary stress on Karamo, though he later said he was glad it began a discourse and was "so thankful that they didn't pull me away because that would have been a disservice to the show, and to our experience as people of color."

1 Even The Plants Are Fake

Some watching Queer Eye think they have pegged a few cases of fake foliage sprinkled among the heroes' redesigned houses. This is certainly possible, as Bobby Berk is known to be a proponent of fake plants. He once said to CNN, “If you can’t do real plants, invest in a good fake one!” While it makes sense that not every hero wants the responsibility of caring for a fancy plant after the show has wrapped, this is just another example of the show putting something fake in front of the cameras. For what it's worth, Berk insists that he provides detailed care instructions when he does leave a real plant behind.

Sources: San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, Architectural Digest, Distractify, Into The Gloss, Junkee, The New Yorker, Entertainment Tonight, Insider, CNN