Abby Huntsman Doesn’t Regret Leaving ‘The View’: “The Best Decision”

Abby Huntsman is getting candid about her decision to leave The View. The former co-host, who left the daytime talk show last year to work on running her father’s campaign for Utah governor, told People she was grateful for the opportunity to work on The View, but has no regrets about leaving.

“I don’t talk much about that time, and I won’t, but the decision that I made was probably the best decision I could have made for my life, for my mental health, for my happiness, for my family,” she said. Huntsman, who co-hosted the show from 2018 to 2020, left amidst rumors she was feuding with her co-stars, specifically fellow conservative co-host Meghan McCain.

Huntsman said the decision to leave came as an instinct, but she had doubts for a while about her role on the show. “I’ve been in the news industry for the last 10 years working at so many different places, but it was a decision that I felt in my gut, actually, for quite some time about making, much longer than people probably realize,” she said. “And when I made the decision, I remember walking out those doors after they told me, ‘No one quits their dream job in television,’ and I said, ‘Well, this isn’t the dream job that I was hoping, in many ways, that it was.'”

The day she quit for good, Huntsman said she felt confident that her choice was “the best thing” she could do for herself. “When I walked out those doors for the first time, I could hear the birds chirping in the city, in Central Park” she recalled. “I looked up in the sky and I thought, ‘This is the best thing I did for myself.’ Because I can see the world, I can hear the world, I’m more present.”

On her final day as a View co-host in January 2020, Huntsman denied any drama behind the scenes, insisting that working there “changed my life for the better” and that she “love[d] everyone” on the show. “People go nuts with rumors on this show, and this week has been no exception,” she said at the time. “But I just want to be as clear as I possibly can. This has been a dream come true. This has been an incredible job.”

When Huntsman left, Sara Haines filled her spot on The View panel. The show is currently hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, McCain and Haines, with Ana Navarro occasionally filling in as guest host.

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.

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