Elisabeth Hasselbeck Bids Teary Goodbye to 'The View'

The news that Elisabeth Hasselbeck would be leaving The View after 10 years was a shock to fans. But it seemed to be an even bigger shock for her co-hosts, who toasted the Survivor contestant-turned-talk show host during her last episode of the show Wednesday.

Walking onto the stage arm-in-arm with Barbara Walters, Hasselbeck — who will be joining the Fox & Friends team in the fall — thanked The View's cast and crew, and especially her co-hosts. The future morning talk show host called Whoopi Goldberg "walking unconditional love," applauded Joy Behar's ability to "make me laugh even when I don't want to," and labeled the noticeably absent Sherri Shepherd "my sister in Christ."

But a teary-eyed Hasselbeck reserved the most praise for The View's creator, Walters. "Barbara, I did some math last night, and I believe, I could be wrong — I think that I've had over 3,000 days working by your side. I think it's fair to say over the course of the decade, I feel as though I have attended the Barbara Walters school of journalism," she said. "Because of all that you have taught me, I was prepared to interview political candidates ... I felt more than prepared at this point because of all that you've given me ... I could not ask for a better leader and mentor."

Hasselbeck didn't deliver any details about her stint on Fox & Friends — the host will be replacing Gretchen Carlson, who is leaving for her own show — and Walters did not divulge when The View plans to replace the outgoing host. "We are not going to be filling it very soon," Walters said. "Don't send us any tapes or resumes, please."

After all, The View is busy enough trying to fill Behar's seat, which will be vacated when the co-host leaves the show in August. Jenny McCarthy is reportedly in serious talks for the role, but one thing's for sure: Without the right-leaning Hasselbeck and left-leaning Behar on the panel, political discussions are about to get a lot less interesting. As Behar noted to Hasselbeck during Wednesday's taping, "I have appreciated your presence here — a lot. When we got into it, it was exciting ... for the show, I think. Of course, we probably have enemies because of it, but so what?"

Image: ABC