News anchor and former prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle joined Fox News in 2006, working
her way up to a co-hosting gig on The Five in 2011.
Serving as the show's legal analyst, Guilfoyle helped to turn the nightly panel discussion
into one of the top-rated programs in all of cable news, all while raising her own profile
as a popular conservative voice.
It's an arrangement that was good while it lasted.
"The network made it official with a one-sentence statement.
Fox News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle."
Despite a dozen years with the company, Guilfoyle and the network parted ways in July 2018.
The murky circumstances of her departure have left viewers wondering what happened to prompt
the sudden exit.
Is it a new job?
True love?
Or the result of an internal power struggle?
Let's break down the real reasons Kimberly Guilfoyle left Fox News.
Her, too
In April 2017, the network ousted prime-time anchor Bill O'Reilly following sexual harassment
allegations.
Following that news, you'd think that others at the network would be extra-vigilant about
acting sexist in the workplace, much less on the air.
But that wasn't the case.
The same day that news broke about O'Reilly's ouster, Guilfoyle got into in a verbal sparring
match on The Five with co-host Bob Beckel.
During an on-air spat in which she called Beckel a crybaby, Beckel and co-host Greg
Gutfeld made some eye-rollingly sexist remarks about Guilfoyle's appearance.
"Call your dress maker!"
"And give 'em a raise.
That's what I'm saying!"
"You are giving America a raise."
There's nothing complimentary about being reduced to an object on live TV, especially
when it happens all the time.
"I just want to call Bob out, on the break he goes, 'Kimberly, I wanna replace you as
a robot, it would have nice long legs and no mouth, it wouldn't talk!'"
This is just the kind of stuff that made it on TV, which certainly raises questions about
what the workplace culture is like when the cameras are off.
Accusations of toxic behavior at Fox News have been well-documented.
Why put up with that when you can get a better gig elsewhere?
Forced out by Fox?
According to anonymous sources who spoke with The Huffington Post, Guilfoyle's choice to
leave Fox News may not have been a choice at all.
Though Guilfoyle's rep told the outlet that her departure was "mutual and amicable," reporter
Yashar Ali reported that she was forced out, and that her "team is in separation negotiations."
Coupled with the one-sentence statement from Fox News and the radio silence so far on Guilfoyle's
part, it's hard not to wonder what went on behind the scenes, and what it might have
to do with Guilfoyle's new boyfriend, Donald Trump Jr.
Burning bridges and political ambitions
Vanessa Trump filed for divorce from Donald Trump Jr, her husband of 12 years, in March
2018.
Afterwards, Guilfoyle and the oldest Trump son made their relationship official.
If the Instagram photo she posted of the two of them holding hands at the White House doesn't
clue you in to what her ambitions for the relationship might be, let's just say she
may be playing the long game.
Guilfoyle has called her new boyfriend the "number one up-and-coming political figure"
on the right, lauding him for his, quote, "compelling political voice".
During their relationship, she's pivoted from being a media pundit to a media critic.
Some of her recent comments include identifying her former profession as being
"[...Full of] imposter[s] [...] teetering on the brink of [being] completely mentally
ill."
Suffice to say, it doesn't sound like she's too keen on taking another media job.
After years of covering politics, it looks like she wants in on the game.
Executive branch out
Guilfoyle has had ambitions of landing a job in the White House for some time.
She was a contender for the role of Press Secretary in the Trump White House in 2016,
a job that went to the oft-parodied Sean Spicer.
After Spicer resigned, Guilfoyle's name resurfaced as someone who could potentially fill the
role.
Speaking to The Mercury News in 2017, Guilfoyle said it would be an honor to serve her country
as Press Secretary, calling the gig "fascinating" and "challenging."
While the job ultimately went to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, it's clear that Guilfoyle is gunning
for an influential position, pivoting from being a newsreader to a political figure.
Super (PAC) woman
Following her departure from Fox News, Guilfoyle has reportedly already lined up her next gig.
According to Politico, she's expected to join the America First super PAC in support of
President Trump.
She plans to hit the campaign trail during the 2018 midterm cycle with boyfriend Donald
Trump, Jr.
Prior to her career change, Guilfoyle wrote a book titled Making the Case: How to Be Your
Own Best Advocate, a book that's designed to, quote, "help you win arguments, [and]
get what you want."
Now that she's out of the media and moving full speed ahead with her political ambitions,
it looks like she's taking her own advice.