After serving as an iconic mentor for the designers competing in the series, Tim Gunn is officially not coming back for Project Runway season 21 and let's just say that the reasons behind that decision are a little confusing (and kind of messy).Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!Project Runway will air for the first time on Freeform the Disney-owned cable network previously known as ABC Family along with streaming services like Hulu and Disney+. But even though season 21 is bringing back host Heidi Klum, mainstay judges like Nina Garca, and even a few contestants from past seasons, the new season does not include Tim Gunn. Choices!While some fans assumed that Gunn himself had probably decided not to return for the reality competition series, that doesn't seem to be the case.Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum exchanged messages about coming back for season 21."Heidi sent me a text saying, 'There's talk about bringing Project Runway back with us, with you and me, and would you do it?,'" Gunn told People. "And I said, 'Would I do it? Of course, there's not a moment of hesitation in me."He added, "So Heidi and I were texting and texting, and several months later, she sent me a text asking, 'Are you happy with your contract?' I'm a truth-teller. I don't even mince words. I said, 'Well, I haven't seen a contract.' And she said, 'You haven't?'"Gunn recalled asking his agent to figure out what went wrong. Gunn's agent "contacted the executive producers of this new show, and they said, 'We don't want him.' And [my agent] said, 'Well, he's done 19 seasons of Runway, 16 with Heidi. The two of them won an Emmy together as hosts, and now you're going to separate them?' And they said, 'Yes.'"Tim Gunn was reportedly offered to make a 'small cameo in one episode.'"Several weeks after that conversation, they went back to [my agent] and said, 'Well, we've thought about it, and we'd be willing to offer Tim a small cameo in one episode,'" Gunn explained in the same People interview. "What do I do? Wave from a bus? As the designers are going into Mood [Fabrics]? Heidi comes to see me at the retirement home and we play croquet? So, no, thank you."He continued, "As Heidi would say, you're either in or you're out. And I'm out."Tim Gunn felt 'devastated' and 'disappointed' about not being asked to return.Gunn admitted that he was "initially devastated, then kind of humiliated," upon hearing the news that he wasn't brought back for a new season of Project Runway. And yet, the fashion and reality TV icon is making it work nonetheless."I thought, how lucky am I to have had the experiences that I've had over the last 20 years?" he said. "This is phenomenal. I stopped the boo-hooing. I thought, it's really throwing hubris in the face of an angry God to mourn not being on this new show. So I've come to terms with it."Gunn continued, "Am I disappointed? Sure. And most of all, it's about not working with Heidi. But we move on, and things happen for a reason. I don't know what the reason is yet, but it will be revealed."Heidi Klum told Tim Gunn that she was 'fighting for him' to be cast.It is Gunn's understanding that Klum was also devastated about him not returning to the series. "She was really upset. She kept saying, 'I'm fighting for you, I'm fighting for you.' Which is lovely of her, and nothing that I should expect. And I said, 'Heidi, just take good care of yourself. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.'"When asked by People if he plans on watching season 21, Gunn was as always a class act.Yes, Gunn is planning to watch the new season. "I have her back and I'm with her in spirit always," he added.Project Runway season 21 premieres on Thursday, July 31 on Freeform, and will also be available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+.