Fox News host Jillian Mele leaving the network to return to La Salle

“This has been the most difficult decision I have made my entire life,” Mele said on Friday during her final episode of "Fox & Friends First."

Fox & Friends news anchor Jillian Mele (right) waits for her segment to begin as hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmead chat during a commercial. Mele is leaving Fox News after four years.Read moreRob Tornoe / Staff

by Rob Tornoe

Published Oct. 29, 2021, 12:35 p.m. ET

After spending the last four years at Fox News, former Comcast Sports Net host and Glenside native Jillian Mele is leaving the network.

An emotional Mele announced the news Friday on Fox & Friends First, which she began co-hosting six months after being hired as a news anchor on Fox & Friends in 2017.

“This has been the most difficult decision I have made my entire life,” Mele said. “Ultimately, I had to do what was right for me… I’m going to take a little time, focus on my personal life, which I haven’t done my whole adult life, and sleep past 1 a.m. for the first time in 15 years.”

Mele, 39, said she is pursuing an MBA at La Salle University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Replacing Mele will be Carley Shimkus, who begins on Monday alongside co-host Todd Piro.

“Carley brings great experience to this role developed over nearly a decade at Fox News Media and we are excited to have her join Fox & Friends First,” Fox News vice president Gavin Hadden said in a statement. “We wish Jillian all the best as she returns home to Philadelphia and thank her for her outstanding contribution and dedication to the Fox & Friends franchise.”

Mele had an eventful four years at Fox, where she appeared on former President Donald Trump’s favorite news program (landing her on his non-defunct Twitter feed several times). She also rubbed elbows with members of the former first family.

“Honestly, I don’t get flooded more with any of that [politics] stuff than I did when I talked about Philly sports,” Mele told the Inquirer in 2017. “Yes, I’m doing this in front of the country now instead of just the Delaware Valley, but one way or another, it doesn’t faze me.”

Prior joining Fox News, Mele became accustomed to working before the sun came up during her 10-year stint on Philadelphia television. She spent two years co-hosting the now-defunct Breakfast on Broad on the network formerly known as Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, where she received an Emmy. Prior to that, she spent seven years at NBC10, working as a news reporter, sports anchor, and traffic reporter.