Sara Haines Opens up About Hitting ‘Rock Bottom’ and Her Struggles After Daytime Show Cancellation

Sara Haines, co-host of ABC’s The View, recently delved into the highs and lows of her career, sharing intimate details of her struggles during the two-year hiatus from the show when she co-anchored GMA3: Strahan, Sara, & Keke from 2018 to 2020. In a candid conversation on the Behind the Table podcast with executive producer Brian Teta, the 46-year-old television personality opened up about hitting “rock bottom” and experiencing postpartum depression after the cancellation of her show. Having a look back at the cancellation of Strahan, Sara, and Keke, Haines revealed, "I was in a dark place, and when you’re depressed, you can’t distinguish reality from your created narratives." The obstacles during this period took a toll on her mental health, and losing the show left her mourning the loss of a cherished dream.

She remarked, "Working with Michael Strahan and eventually Keke Palmer, I miss them all the time. The laughter, the joy, even the staff. But the show didn’t have a chance out the gates. We fumbled, all of us, through the whole thing." Adding to the problems, Haines added, "Meanwhile, I got through finding out I’m pregnant unexpectedly and dropping into a depression, having major postpartum depression as I tried to race back and save a drowning ship, which was our show, six weeks after having a baby.” As per ET, the show underwent a complete revamp into a pandemic-focused program anchored by Amy Robach amid the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Due to the unexpected change, she shared, "I was mourning. It was the dream I’d always had. Out of the gates, it rarely was that but I was so determined not to fail and not to let go, that I was being dragged behind a car, metaphorically." She further added, "My friends that did my hair and makeup, they remember vividly, I don’t remember many days where I wasn’t crying in my dressing room. It was a rough time and again, no shade to any of the people. I worked with some fun, amazing people and we had a lot of fun."

As per People, despite the hurdles, when offered the chance to return to The View during the pandemic, Haines expressed gratitude, “I was so tense that day that I didn’t know if I’d remember how to do my job. I had become invisible in those two years in my mind, through the depression and stuff. I couldn’t have even told you what my talent was. I didn’t even know how to do what I had been paid to do for years. I think a lot of that came from hitting kind of a rock bottom for myself professionally.”

As The View has held the No. 1 spot for four seasons, Teta credited Haines for her contribution to the show's success. Haines, in response, noted the incredible range and perspective the show offers, celebrating the diversity of viewpoints at the table. "How lucky am I though? That stuff doesn’t line up in this business, and to go through all of that and then not know what was next or coming? It’s so amazing. It has range, it has perspective and different points of view and such different life perspectives. Where we all come from, our experiences, it is a great table."