Sara Haines returned to The View on Thursday and said she had missed the previous day because her father-in-law died. She told viewers he had been in hospice for 1 week, and that she had found out right before the show on Wednesday.
"I wanted to share why I was missing yesterday," she said on Thursday. Haines added, "My father-in-law passed away. He [had] been in hospice for a week, so we knew it was coming."
Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg
Joy Behar had already told the panel that Haines was not sick, which narrowed the explanation to something personal rather than a routine absence. On Thursday, Haines said, "I think the second that landed, it kind of allowed a load [we were] carrying [to] gush out," before adding, "Max has been gone. He hasn’t seen the kids, and now he’s finally back and we’re pouring love into him."
She also said her father-in-law "was the most important person in Max’s life" and described him as "Max’s North Star." That puts the absence in a practical frame for viewers: the break was not a health issue, and the return came with a direct explanation instead of speculation.
Max Shifrin and 2014
Haines has been married to Max Shifrin since 2014, and they share son Alec, daughter Sandra, and son Caleb. That family detail is the part of the story that gives the absence its weight on TV: it was tied to a death in the immediate family, not a production dispute or a schedule change.
Haines said she wanted to "quell any rumors going around," and Alyssa Farrah Griffin said the discussion had "made it sound scandalous." Haines replied, "You made it sound so interesting. I almost didn’t want to ruin it with the truth."
Women Like Us on ABC
Whoopi Goldberg said on Wednesday that she would be absent from ABC's daytime talk show for 2 weeks while filming Women Like Us, adding, "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 also said, "I’m excited to do it. It’ll be fun."
That separate absence left The View with two different on-air adjustments in the same week, but Haines' return settled the sharper question for viewers: why she was gone one day and back the next. The answer was a family death, and she delivered it herself.
