Sara Haines broke down on air Thursday as she told viewers her father-in-law had died just before Wednesday's live broadcast of The View, a loss she called "brutal."
The 49-year-old co-host had been conspicuously missing from Wednesday's episode, prompting on-air speculation from her colleagues and questions from the show's audience. When she returned to the table Thursday, Haines addressed the absence head-on, saying she wanted to get ahead of any gossip about why she had stepped away.
Page Six reported that Haines became emotional as she explained the timeline. Her father-in-law had entered hospice care roughly a week before his death. Haines learned he had passed right before Wednesday's live show and chose not to go on camera.
Haines, who married attorney Max Shifrin in 2014, described the depth of the loss in personal terms. She said her father-in-law had come up on her very first date with Shifrin because the older man was, in her words, her husband's guiding presence.
Haines told her co-hosts:
"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."
She also described the emotional weight that hit the family once the death became real, even though they had known it was coming.
"I think the second that landed, it kind of allowed a load [we were] carrying [to] gush out."
Shifrin had been away from the family in the days leading up to his father's death. Haines said he had returned home and that she and their three children, son Alec, 10, daughter Sandra, 8, and son Caleb, 7, were focused on supporting him.
"Max has been gone. He hasn't seen the kids, and now he's finally back and we're pouring love into him."
On Wednesday, with Haines absent and no public explanation yet offered, co-host Joy Behar addressed the empty seat. Behar clarified that Haines was not sick but did not disclose the reason for her absence. The show is known for its unpredictable live moments, and Behar's vague reassurance apparently left viewers guessing.
When Haines returned Thursday, co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffin joked that Behar had "made it sound scandalous." Haines herself played along, telling Behar she had made the absence sound "so interesting" that Haines "almost didn't want to ruin it with the truth."
The exchange was brief and good-natured, a moment of levity before Haines steered the conversation back to her family's grief.
Haines was not the only co-host making news about time away from the show. On the same Wednesday episode, Whoopi Goldberg told viewers she would be absent from The View for two weeks to film "Women Like Us," a movie produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The film stars Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams, and Jennifer Lewis alongside Goldberg.
Goldberg, 70, described the project in broad terms:
"It's about change and getting older and having fun with your friends and people who get you. It's about finding your people."
She added: "I'm excited to do it. It'll be fun." No release date or distributor for the film was disclosed.
Haines first joined The View's co-host panel before departing in 2018. She returned to the show roughly two years later. Before The View, she worked on "Good Morning America" and the "Today" show.
Grief doesn't wait for a convenient broadcast window, and Haines earned some goodwill Thursday by saying plainly what happened instead of letting the rumor mill fill in the blanks.
