Sara Haines returned to “The View” Thursday with tears in her eyes, ready to explain why she had vanished from the ABC talk show without warning.
The 48-year-old co-host, who had been absent from Wednesday’s live broadcast, revealed on air that her father-in-law had died after a brief stay in hospice care. Haines has been married to attorney Max Shifrin since 2014, and she made clear that her husband’s loss was devastating to their entire family.
“I wanted to share why I was missing yesterday,” Haines said, per the outlet. “My father-in-law passed away. He [had] been in hospice for a week, so we knew it was coming.”
The news reached Haines just before Wednesday’s show was set to begin, forcing her to make a quick decision about whether she could go on air. She chose to step away, leaving her co-hosts to address her empty seat at the “Hot Topics” table.
That absence quickly became fodder for speculation, fueled by an awkward on-air exchange between Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg. Behar had clarified that Haines was not sick, a comment that inadvertently stirred more questions than it answered. By Thursday, Alyssa Farrah Griffin was joking about the moment, telling Behar she had “made it sound scandalous.”
Haines herself joined in the gentle ribbing. “You made it sound so interesting. I almost didn’t want to ruin it with the truth,” she added.
But the humor was brief, and Haines soon returned to the raw grief she and her husband were navigating. Shifrin had been away from their three children — Alec, 10, Sandra, 8, and Caleb, 7 — during his father’s final days, and was only now returning home to absorb the loss with his family.
“Max has been gone. He hasn’t seen the kids, and now he’s finally back and we’re pouring love into him,” Haines continued.
She spoke with particular force about what her father-in-law had meant to the man she married. “[He] was the most important person in Max’s life,” she said. “I think I learned about this man on my first date because [he] was Max’s North Star, so it’s the chapter we’re in, and we’ll all be part of this club eventually. But wow, it’s brutal.”
The emotion of that final word hung in the studio. Haines also acknowledged that part of her motivation in speaking out was to shut down the rumor mill that had begun churning within hours of her disappearance from the panel.
The timing of the disclosure came as “The View” faces another cast change. Goldberg, 70, confirmed Wednesday that she will be absent for two weeks while filming “Women Like Us,” a movie produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The project also stars Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams and Jennifer Lewis.
“It’s about change and getting older and having fun with your friends and people who get you. It’s about finding your people,” Goldberg said of the film. “I’m excited to do it. It’ll be fun.”
Haines first joined “The View” in 2016, departed in 2018, and returned to the panel in 2020. Her Thursday return marked a quiet end to a difficult 24 hours for her family, one that began with a death and unfolded under the unexpected glare of daytime television speculation.
“I think the second that landed, it kind of allowed a load [we were] carrying [to] gush out,” she added, describing how the anticipated loss still overwhelmed when it finally came.