Meghan McCain said she wanted to share the news with her co-hosts and viewers at home that she was leaving “The View” at the end of this season.
“So I’m just going to rip the band-aid off,” the co-host of the popular ABC talk show shared during Thursday’s episode, Entertainment Tonight reported. (RELATED: ‘He Provided A Public Service’: Joy Behar Thanks Jeffrey Toobin For Distracting From Trump)
“I am here to tell all of you, my wonderful co-hosts and the viewers at home that this is going to be my last season here at ‘The View,'” she added. “I will be here through the end of July to finish out the season with all of you, which I am grateful for.” (RELATED: ‘My Ancestors Fought In The American Revolution’: Meghan McCain Speaks Out On Meghan Markle Interview As ‘#AbolishTheMonarchy’ Trends)
.@MeghanMcCain announces her departure from @TheView at the end of the show’s season, saying “this was not an easy decision.”
“I’m just eternally grateful to have had this opportunity here so, seriously, thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart.” https://t.co/ZiP1UTs2xu pic.twitter.com/eLuEAJ4KLT
— The View (@TheView) July 1, 2021
“This was not an easy decision,” McCain continued. “It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer and talking to my family and my close friends.”
At one point, the former Fox News co-host talked about how it was a “privilege” to have worked on the show alongside “such strong, brilliant, intelligent, incredible broadcasters.”
“You are the most talented women on all of television hands down and it has been so incredible,” Meghan said.
She didn’t explain why she had decided to leave but noted that COVID-19 changed things for everyone, reminding viewers that when the co-hosts left the studio due to the virus, she had just found out that she was pregnant with her first child. (RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg Makes Peace With Meghan McCain After Arguing Intensely On-Air)
Her doctor advised her to leave New York City and she and her husband, Ben Domenech, ended up moving to the Washington, D.C. area. She’s a new mom and said that they have an “incredible” life there and support unit. Meghan said she felt like she “didn’t want to leave,” without explaining further.
McCain first joined as a co-host in 2017 and has repeatedly generated headlines, as she’s gone head-to-head in heated arguments with her co-hosts as the outspoken, conservative voice.
In 2020, reports surfaced that no one was allegedly talking to Meghan on the show. Despite those reports, an ABC rep said, “We have an incredible panel of smart, dynamic women … including Meghan, who brings … passion and a strong point of view to the table every day.”
Reports surfaced over the summer of 2019 alleging that McCain was done with the show, “feeling like a caged animal” and “so exhausted and defeated” following all the on-air clashes she’d had with her liberal co-hosts.