Abby Huntsman Says Leaving The View Is The “Best Decision” She’s Ever Made

Facing Toxicity On The View

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For those who don’t know, Abby Huntsman remained on The View until January 2020. At the time, many rumors swirled that the show had a toxic environment, and Huntsman and co-host Meghan McCain had a terrible relationship. However, while we may never know exactly what happened, the TV star is opening up about her time on The View. “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 recently confessed.

While Huntsman acknowledges the job was not easy, she knew she had to when she realized the job was not a dream one anymore. The second she left the studio building, relief washed over her. “I could hear the birds chirping in the city, in Central Park,” Huntsman recalled. “And 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.”

Abby Huntsman’s Current Plans

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As for the rumors about Huntsman and McCain fighting, it’s slightly true. They did fight, but only once. While the media made it a big deal, the two stars settled the fight almost immediately. “It was sort of bizarre for me, and I think bizarre for [Abby], to have the fact that we got into one fight in the two years we worked together on the show, to be, you know, put under dissection by the media, to be weaponized,” McCain said. “It’s been really emotionally taxing to have our friendship used this way in the media. It’s taken a real toll on me.”

Over the past year, Huntsman certainly had some doubts about leaving The View. In the end, however, she knows that she made the right decision. And since leaving, the host has found new challenges to tackle. For example, Huntsman first helped her father’s, Jon Huntsman Jr., campaign for governor of Utah when the coronavirus pandemic started. Sadly, Huntsman’s father lost his primary race. Afterward, her whole family contracted COVID-19, including her husband, their three kids, and her parents. “I could sit here and tell you everything’s a lesson, but no… that was one of the hardest things I ever went through,” she explained.

Today, The View hosts include Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, McCain, and Ana Navarro, as of this writing. Currently, Huntsman does not plan on returning to the show. Instead, she’s launching her own podcast.