Tan France Says He's Become 'Much More Emotional' Since Welcoming Son: 'I Miss Him All the Time'

Lindsay Salazar

Tan France unlocked a whole new side to himself when he became a parent to baby boy Ismail.

While chatting with PEOPLE about his new nursery collection with Nestig, the Queer Eye star also opened up about life with his 16-month-old son, sharing how fatherhood has made him "much more emotional."

Prior to becoming a dad, France, who welcomed son Ismail via surrogate with husband Rob last July, says he wasn't a "very emotional person."

"I have only cried a couple of times on [Queer Eye,]" he notes. "But ever since I had my baby, it's made me much more emotional. Much more emotional."

France explains that having to spend time away from his son while filming has been "the hardest part, without a doubt, of being a working parent."

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The fashion designer is currently in England filming Say Yes to the Dress, where he says he has a "very tough shoot schedule."

"I'm working a lot of hours. And so sometimes I only get to just see him as we're putting him to bed," he says. "And that makes me really emotional because I really hate not having a lot of time with him. I just really miss him all the time."

At home, however, France and his son have a "beautiful" space where they can spend time together: Ismail's nursery.

On Wednesday, Nestig released an exclusive children's decor collection with France, featuring wallpaper, rugs, wall murals, mobiles and more, which France boasts in his own nursery at home.

"We started off with wallpaper. I'm really into prints. I'm more of a maximalist than anything else, especially in my home," says France. "And so, I wanted to create a print that my son hopefully would gravitate towards as he got older."

At the time France started working with Nestig, he says, Ismail was very into "animal toys, specifically Indian animal toys."

"I wanted [the nursery] to feel like my community," he explains. "I'm South Asian. I wanted to have Indian animals ... I was really communicative with every facet of that [wallpaper] print."

Lindsay Salazar

France notes that the wallpaper has also been a teaching tool for Ismail. "My son has learned what these animals are through that paper."

"He now knows what a monkey is. And he points to the monkey. He now knows what a tiger is, and he'll make the roar because of that paper," he says.

In addition to the wallpaper, France notes of the collection, "We've got rugs as well, that I'm obsessed with, that tie into the animals that are on the wallpaper, which I think is beautiful. And then there are also blankets that tie in."