Elisabeth Hasselbeck may be one of the most memorable reality TV alums and controversial
talk show hosts TV has ever seen, but as of 2015, she's been keeping a rather low profile.
Here are some of the moments that defined Elisabeth Hasselbeck's career, and what she's
been up to since she stepped away from the television spotlight.
Snagging the opportunity to transition from reality TV as a contestant on Survivor to
one of daytime's biggest talk shows is nothing to scoff at, but Hasselbeck's accomplishment
was shrouded in controversy.
The Survivor alum was invited to join the ladies of The View in 2003 and ended up having
a decade-long run on the show, but the experience was filled with negativity.
During her time on The View, Hasselbeck regularly butted heads with co-host Rosie O'Donnell
and more than once, those differences of opinion triggered yelling matches.
"Here's how it gets spun in the media.
Rosie, big, fat, lesbian, loud Rosie attacks innocent, pure, Christian Elisabeth."
The most explosive moment happened on May 23rd, 2007, when O'Donnell and Hasselbeck
went head-to-head over the Iraq War.
O'Donnell, after being attacked in the media, insisted that Hasselbeck hadn't publicly defended
her.
"You said nothing, and that's cowardly."
"No, no, no.
No, no, no."
"Nothing, Elisabeth."
"Do not.
Do not call me a coward."
O'Donnell quit The View soon after that fight, and Hasselbeck couldn't seem to shake the
controversy.
She eventually left the show as well in 2013, when producers declined to renew her contract.
Their infamous feud has pretty much defined Hasselbeck's career.
When The View celebrated its 20th birthday with a special titled The View: 20 Years in
the Making, it was the infamous Hasselbeck-O'Donnell showdown that took centerstage.
"If you're watching The View and it goes split screen, don't leave the room because fireworks,
anger, blood, it's like Game of Thrones basically."
Hasselbeck clearly isn't interested in letting bygones be bygones.
When it was announced in 2014 that Rosie O'Donnell would be returning to The View round table,
Hasselbeck couldn't hold her tongue on the matter, even though she had already left the
show and found another gig co-hosting Fox & Friends.
Hasselbeck was actually on vacation when the announcement was made, but according to Talking
Points Memo, she called into Fox & Friends just to declare,
"What could ruin a vacation more than to hear news like this?
Here comes to The View the very woman who spit in the face of our military, spit in
the face of her own network and really in the face of a person who stood by her and
had civilized debates for the time that she was there."
Hasselbeck didn't stop there.
She also took to Instagram to defend her O'Donnell opinion, writing,
"When asked about Barbara Walters retiring, I provided my analysis.
When asked about Sherri [Shepherd] and Jenny [McCarthy] announcing their departure, I provided
my analysis.
When asked about Rosie coming back, I provided my analysis."
In covering trending news, Hasselbeck often became the news, thanks to her consistently
controversial statements.
While reporting on Sandra Bland, for example, a 28-year-old Texas woman who was pulled over
by police and taken into custody after refusing to put out her cigarette, only to be found
dead in her jail cell three days later, Hasselbeck weighed in with this:
"But, what if, I mean, there are times, I'm sure, someone has, in the history of this
land, used a cigarette against a police officer, maybe chucked it at him, pushed it at him."
Many thought she was suggesting that Bland was to blame for the outcome of her interaction
with police, but Hasselbeck defended herself on Twitter, writing,
"I NEVER suggested Sandra Bland could have used a cigarette as a weapon.
I asked whether it was wise to ask her to put it out.
#StopTheLies."
Acrimonious scenarios like this were common throughout Hasselbeck's TV news career.
From calling the Black Lives Matter movement a "hate group," to her tone while interviewing
former President Barack Obama, she had a knack for making waves and putting herself in the
spotlight.
Whether you loved her or loathed her, perhaps audiences and/or Hasselbeck herself grew tired
of the constant finger-pointing.
Hasselbeck briefly and mysteriously disappeared from her hosting gig at Fox & Friends in 2014
and later revealed it was due to a major health scare.
"I had a tumor in my abdomen.
Doctor said, 'Look, you've got to get it out by the end of the month.
We don't like how it looks.'
I was facing something that potentially could have gone either way."
Preparing for the worst, Hasselbeck said she found strength in those around her, explaining,
"Many women and people that I know have stared down the barrel of that cancer gun and done
remarkable things, courageously, to fight it, and so I knew if I got that side of news
that I would be in their wings and, by their example, able to fight it."
After a suspense-filled week, the TV personality discovered that she no longer needed to worry.
"I got a clear and clean bill of health, and I'm just thankful, I'm really thankful."
the show less than two years later on December 22nd, 2015.
Unlike her drama-filled departure from The View, which according to her 2019 book, Point
of View, left her with a, quote, "wound of disappointment and betrayal," this goodbye
was a bittersweet one.
The farewell began with a touching video montage, which brought Hasselbeck to tears as she thanked
everyone, and singled out then-embattled Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who she once called
"the best man I have worked for," for giving her, quote,
"The opportunity to join you all in this family [and for] an outstanding amount of understanding
and guidance when I made this decision to go home."
"I truly have been in the best hands and I'm so thankful, I have a heart full of gratitude
for this, this is an outstanding team who works so hard."
The TV alum went on to reveal that the sign-off would mark the end of her small screen career
because she had made the tough decision to focus her energy elsewhere.
Hasselbeck's resignation from Fox & Friends came as a surprise to fans, but as she explained
her reasoning, no one could fault her.
Having decided to move to Nashville with her husband, ESPN commentator Tim Hasselbeck,
and their three kids, Hasselbeck revealed that she was hitting the breaks on her TV
career to take on a, quote, "new position as CBO, Chief Breakfast Officer."
She admitted during her on-air goodbye that she'd gotten to an age where she wanted to
start each day with her kids instead of at work, adding that her children need, quote,
"The best of me, not the rest of me."
Hasselbeck called the decision "really, really hard," but went on to say that she was confident
it was the right one.
Looking back at her choice to leave TV behind, Hasselbeck told Fox & Friends in a 2019 interview
that she has no regrets.
"Nashville's been really good to us.
I have to say we get a lot of the 'why's' we moved, now, we do the 'what's' first.
We just heard God calling us there."
Having vowed to leave her talk show career and New York City behind in order to focus
on raising her kids in Nashville full-time, Hasselbeck turned to smaller, one-off roles,
like hosting the 2015 K-LOVE Fan Awards organized by Christian radio station K-LOVE.
According to Breathe Cast, Hasselbeck said on the red carpet,
"I'm such a super fan of K-LOVE.
It doesn't get much better than this to get to celebrate the artists, the athletes, the
writers, the film producers, and those [who] are just so loud and proud for God."
In addition to being an avid listener, Hasselbeck added that she took on the gig because:
"When the spirit moves you, it's not like you can say no.
However God wants to use me for His glory, I have surrendered that to Him and His plan.
I am thankful to be here with my family and let the kids see a big party for God, and
meet all my favorite artists."
She may be spending more time at home with her family, but that hasn't kept Hasselbeck
from finding innovative ways to keep working.
In addition to taking on smaller gigs here and there, she also launched her own gluten-free
nutrition brand.
Called NoGii, it features healthy, gluten-free snacks and supplements and has become a regular
staple on her Instagram feed.
According to the brand's site,
"NoGii has been a total passion project for Elisabeth, from being involved with the original
logo and packaging design to product formulations."
The site also notes that she used "her family and friends as a focus group" to test out
her bars and protein powders, which she was inspired to create after being diagnosed with
celiac disease.
According to her mission statement, the brand's goal is to change the perception of a gluten-free
diet because:
"Gluten-free living should not be a burden for anyone, but a lifestyle one can enjoy."
If you think Hasselbeck will one day grow tired of her life out of the spotlight and
return to television full-time, you're wrong.
As she revealed to The Tennessean in 2019, she doesn't miss her time in front of the
camera nor that period in her life because it had begun to take a real toll on all aspects
of her well-being.
Discussing the time leading up to her resignation from Fox & Friends, she told the outlet,
"I was at my worst physical, personal and spiritual place.
I had lost my natural state of enjoying and playing with the kids.
I felt like a mom zombie floating through the rest of the day."
When she visited Nashville to host the K-LOVE Christian music awards, she not only fell
in love with the city, but according to The Tennessean, the trip actually served a much
higher purpose: It gave her, quote, "her life back."
Hasselbeck went on to say,
"[God] was so generous to give me Nashville as a destination.
He turned my doubt into direction."
She admitted that was in fact the moment she knew it was time to leave New York City and
the hectic world of news behind.
She went on to gush that even now,
"[Nashville] feels like a soulmate city to me here."
So, don't expect to see her back on the small screen any time soon.
Six years after being fired from The View, the drama she was involved in on the show
still trailed her.
In April 2019, audio of Hasselbeck yelling and quitting during a 2006 commercial break
went viral, showcasing just how bad things got for her and why she hasn't been keen to
return to the spotlight.
It all started with a heated on-air debate about the morning after pill.
"Elizabeth, Calm down dear."
"I can't, this makes me so upset, Barbara."
"But everybody has strong opinions."
After that, Hasselbeck reportedly tore up her notecards and stormed off.
"I'm not going back out there, I'm not going back out there."
"Come into my office here."
"No I'm not going back out there.
You know what, I can take it in the meeting, I'm not taking it out there on air."
Co-host Joy Behar continued to try and calm her down, but Hasselbeck was fuming.
"She just reprimanded me and she knew exactly what she was doing."
"I know."
"Goodbye.
I'm off.
Write about that in the New York f---ing Post!"
After the audio surfaced, Hasselbeck took to Instagram to justify her outburst, writing,
in part,
"Yes - There were times when I was quite humanly reactive.
I used a bad word when frustrated....I used fighting words because I believe that God
decides the value of the lives of babies...And in the heat of the moment, when I felt the
need to protect what I knew to be truth and had seen with my own eyes on ultrasound the
LIFE in my own shell of a body- I used big battle words (one in particular that I am
not proud of and am sorry for using in the heat of trying to defend the lives of the
unborn)."
It's no wonder then that when she was offered her old job back on The View in 2018, she
flat out refused, as she explained in her 2019 autobiography.
Hasselbeck previously found success writing about her gluten-free lifestyle with 2011's
The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide and 2014's Deliciously G-Free: Food So Flavorful
They'll Never Believe It's Gluten-Free: A Cookbook, but in 2019, she decided to try
penning an autobiography.
The 224-page book, released in March 2019, is called Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work,
Faith, and Freedom and covers her career, faith and personal experiences.
As she shared with fans on Instagram, in part,
"This one is *not* about gluten or my gut.
It is about God and my heart.
Decided on a cover with the help of the kids and sweet creative friends!!!...It feels a
little scary to share so much (lessons learned the hard way/big mistakes/graceless moments).
So: I pray for His courage to work through me.
Praying thanks to all those on the journey who taught me such lessons on mercy and pursuit
and grit and grace!!!"
Unfortunately, despite the juicy gossip it promised to deliver, and her faith in its
success, as of September 2019, Point of View was ranked Number 35,881 in Books on Amazon,
which is a constantly-shifting metric, but it's not even close to the Top 100.
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