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Julie Chen Officially Exits The Talk, Surprising No One

The host is leaving in the wake of her husband's exit from CBS

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Lindsay MacDonald

Update 9/18/18: Following reports from CNN late Monday, Julie Chen officially announced her exit from The Talk during Tuesday's show, saying, "I need to spend more time at home with my husband and our young son, so I've decided to leave The Talk... I know this show and the sisterhood it stands for will continue for many years to come."

CBS also released a statement regarding her decision to leave, but it made no mention of the scandal that forced the departure of her husband Les Moonves from CBS, or what part it may have played in this change:

"For eight seasons, Julie Chen has co-hosted The Talk with incredible energy, grace and professionalism. Her talents played a big role in our successful launch of CBS' first network daytime talk show, and in the series growth into an Emmy Award-winning broadcast. All of us here have tremendous appreciation for the dedication and passion she brought to the show every day and for her generous role as an ambassador for CBS Daytime. We are grateful for her many other contributions, respect her decision and wish Julie all the best in everything she does."


Earlier:

Julie Chen's "break" from The Talkhas turned into a full-on exit.

CNN reports that Chen will announce her exit from the series on Tuesday's show, with sources saying, "She has decided that her main focus needs to be clearing her husband's name from accusations made 25-30 years ago and tending to her son."

It's not a surprising move for Chen considering The Talk is a show where you have to, well, talk about current events. Last week, Chen said she was taking a few days off from the series in the wake of her husband Les Moonves' departure from CBS as chairman and CEO after a wave of allegations of sexual assault. Now, her leave of absence will be made permanent.

The move isn't a surprising one, given The Talk's dedication to discussing issues exactly like the scandal Chen and her husband are now embroiled in. During the Sept. 10 season premiere, Chen's co-hosts held a conversation on the allegations against Moonves, during which time Sara Gilbert acknowledged that while she "always" supports Chen, this is "an important time in our culture. And just because this hits close to home, it doesn't change this story. All women's stories matter. This is very serious and the appropriate actions need to take place."

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Although Chen is leaving The Talk, as of now it looks as though she will be staying on as host of Big Brother. Chen did close out last Thursday's episode of the hit reality series by showing support for her husband, signing off the episode as "Julie Chen Moonves" instead just saying Julie Chen.

The Talk airs weekdays at 2/1c on CBS.

(Full disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS.)