In a 2016 special segment for ‘Oprah, Makeover my Man,’ Oprah Winfrey and Tim Gunn met Josh and Heidi, two lovebirds who had been together for many years. Josh had sported a bushy, excessively long beard for most of their relationship and an unruly, wavy hairdo. He had also grown accustomed to wearing the same outfit almost every day; a white t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of old brown workboots. Upon first meeting him, Winfrey and Gunn knew they had their work cut out for them. But after a good trim and a few style tips, Josh looked like a new man – much to Heidi’s excitement.

Heidi loved her boyfriend, Josh – even with his scruffy looks – but the 38-year-old said it was time for a change when she realized she couldn’t remember what her boyfriend looked like under his grown-out beard and long fizzy hair. Miraculously, she managed to get her beloved on board for a makeover, so she recruited the help of the very best; media mogul Oprah Winfrey and legendary stylist Tim Gunn.

“I like Josh’s look,” Heidi tells Winfrey and Gunn before the makeover. “I just want it to be less, um, hairy?” she added, getting a chuckle out of the audience. She explains that Josh looked the same when the two first met, except with both even longer hair and beard. “I remember being kind of afraid to kiss him for the first time because I didn’t know where his mouth was,” Heidi joked.

Then 38 years old, Josh hadn’t gotten a haircut or shaved in ‘years,’ forgoing haircuts and shaving since he left the military twelve years prior. Since then, the veteran has grown quite attached to his facial hair and long locks, barely trusting Heidi to give his beard so much as a half-inch trim.

But it wasn’t just Josh’s vast mass of hair that needed a revamp – it was his style, too. “Josh dresses like the Fonz,” Heidi explains, as her boyfriend gives a proud spin to show off his fashionable outfit. Heidi isn’t wrong, as going into Josh’s room, it became apparent he owns a mammoth amount of plain white t-shirts and denim jeans – and of course, in true Fonzie fashion, a pair of good ol’ working boots. According to Heidi, Josh wears that same outfit every day.

“I don’t dress like that when we go out, do I?” Josh asks his girlfriend a bit hesitantly. “Yeah,” Heidi replies with a heavy sigh.

Even with Josh’s girlfriend’s discontent with his sense of style, he sticks to his choices. “I dare you to make me look better!” He tells Gunn and Winfrey.

Gunn got to work on Josh, giving him a new hairstyle and beard, and later took him shopping to upgrade his Fonz look. Speaking to Winfrey, the stylist revealed that Josh had actually become emotional when the time came to trim.

“He was very trepidacious about the whole thing,” Gunn said. “We had to really do a little therapy during the grooming,” he added.

The stylist tried his best to put Josh’s worries at ease, telling him that he had healthy hair that would surely grow back. “But please, don’t let it!” Gunn joked.

While Josh might have been wary of going through with the makeover, it’s safe to say it was well worth it in the end. When Gunn and Winfrey were done with him, Josh had gone from a scruffy ‘caveman’ to a handsome, sophisticated gentleman in the final reveal. The veteran walked out onto the stage with a skip in his step, only for the audience – including his girlfriend – to go absolutely wild upon seeing his new look.

His new outfit, handpicked by Gunn’s team of style gurus, was complete with a dark denim pair of straight-cut jeans, a sky-blue and white striped dress shirt topped with a swanky red jumper, and a beautifully tailored brown leather jacket to tie it all up. However, what came as most of a surprise was how handsome Josh looks under all that scruff. Gunn’s team cut his hair into a sleek and classy pompadour while leaving him a neatly trimmed, close-shaven beard. “You look great!” Winfrey said.

Josh told Winfrey that he was torn when it came to getting rid of his beard, but Gunn’s team came up with an excellent compromise to make up for that.

“I feel like a new man,” Josh said excitedly.

Winfrey also spoke to Josh about what she thought of his look before the drastic makeover. “You were looking very biblical,” she joked. “Grizzly Adams as a prophet,” Gunn humorously added.

Switching to a more serious note, the former Project Runway mentor explained that when giving a man a makeover, cutting their hair and beard should be done in a respectful way. “It’s all about respecting who they are at their core, but making them better; enhancing them,” Gunn explained.

“And frankly, I didn’t want to take Josh’s beard completely off, I mean the easiest thing in the world would be to just strip them all clean and put them all in a tux, they’ll all look fabulous,” he continued. “But how do you make them really resonate who they are, but look like they’re polished and sophisticated and belong to the century?”

Winfrey then pointed out that Josh’s infamous workboots were still part of the look — albeit a more stylish pair. “What do you think?” Winfrey asked the audience, to which the room burst into applause.

Unsurprisingly, Heidi was absolutely ecstatic after seeing her boyfriend’s transformation. “He looks great,” she said. “And this is exactly what I’ve been trying to get him to do.” She explained that she knew it was possible for Josh to keep his signature beard and hair by cleaning it up with a good trim and stylish attire.

“He looks great, I can’t get over it!” she added. “Thank you, Tim,” she told Gunn, to which he replied, “we did it together!”

Winfrey wies dann darauf hin, dass Joshs berüchtigte Arbeitsstiefel immer noch Teil des Looks waren – wenn auch ein stilvolleres Paar. “Was denkt ihr?”, fragte Winfrey das Publikum, woraufhin alle in Applaus ausbrachen.

Es überraschte nicht, dass Heidi absolut ekstatisch war, nachdem sie die Verwandlung ihres Freundes gesehen hatte. “Er sieht toll aus”, sagte sie. “Und ich habe versucht, ihn genau dazu zu bringen.” Sie erklärte, dass sie gewusst habe, dass es für Josh möglich war, seinen unverkennbaren Bart und seine Haare zu behalten, indem alles ordentlich geschnitten wird und er stylische Kleidung bekommt.

“Er sieht großartig aus, ich kann es gar nicht fassen”, fügte sie hinzu. “Danke, Tim”, sagte sie zu Gunn, woraufhin dieser antwortete: “Wir haben das gemeinsam geschafft!”

Isn’t this the craziest makeover ever? What do you think of Josh’s new look? Let us know your thoughts, and don’t forget to show this amazing transformation to your friends and family!