What Happened to Sara Haines? Why the Host Went Missing During an Episode of ‘The View’

Fans of The View were left confused after cohost Sara Haines disappeared during the talk show. The journalist was not present at the beginning of the episode on Monday, February 20, but ended up at the news desk later on just for a few minutes. Scroll below for details on what happened to her. 

What Happened to Sara Haines on ‘The View’?

At the start of the episode, Sara did not walk out onto the stage with the rest of her cohosts. Instead, it appeared that she and Joy Behar were both absent from the program that day. While it is normal for each of the TV personalities to take a few days off here and there, what happened next was truly surprising. 

The cast interviewed Elizabeth Banks at the news desk about her latest movie, Cocaine Bear. As the audience welcomed the director to the stage, the camera zoomed out and showed Sara sitting at the news desk in a yellow outfit. There was no mention as to why she missed the first half of the episode, but it seemed like the show was going to carry on as normal.

When it came time to interview the next guest, Madelyn Cline, the broadcaster was once again missing. Many fans took to Twitter to discuss Sara’s disappearance after only just a few minutes on the program that day.

“Sara Haines, you were Houdini today!” one fan tweeted. “Not at the desk…at the desk…Gone again!”

Another came up with a possible reason behind why Sara went missing in between segments, writing, “It’s Presidents’ Day. Most schools are off. She’s probably with her children.”

The Today alum shares kids Alec, Sandra and Caleb with her husband, Max Shifrin. She did not reveal a reason for her absence from several segments of the episode. Some episodes of the show are pre-recorded, which could have played a factor in why Sara was there one minute and gone the next.

The Iowa native also missed the show on February 16 along with cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin. Only four cohosts were present on the program that day, but they continued on with the format as normal. One month prior, Sara took a short break from TV after coming in close contact with someone who had COVID-19. 

Is Sara Haines Leaving ‘The View’? 

Though she missed a few episodes of The View in early 2023, Sara has not announced any plans to leave the series. On top of her role on the ABC hit, she also hosts The Chase, a quiz competition show on the network that began in 2021.