CONFIRMED: Rosie O’Donnell leaves “The View” and her wife!

As we know by now, things in Hollywood are almost never how they appear on TV. It’s all an act, and that’s exactly what Rosie O’Donnell has been doing. She has been acting as if everything is “OK” and things in her personal life are far from it.

She and her wife Michelle Rounds have separated. The two have been together for three years and have been living apart for months. Rosie feels that the time that she is putting in on “The View” is better spent trying to care for her five children, one of which she adopted with Rounds.

CONFIRMATION

Cindi Berger, a rep for O’Donnell has formally confirmed the split from both her wife and “The View”. She issued a statement last night,

I can confirm that Rosie and her wife Michelle split in November. Rosie has teens and an infant at home that need her attention. This has been a very stressful situation. She is putting her personal health and family first. ABC has been wonderfully understanding and supportive of her personal decision to leave ‘The View.’ Next week will be her last.

There has been rumors that Rosie O’Donnell’s friction with the cast and producers along with plummeting ratings was going to get her bounced out sooner than later. The show’s rival “The Talk” pulled more viewers over a full week for the first time ever this year. For the week ending Jan 11th, “The Talk” averaged 2.95 million viewers beating “The View’s” 2.88 million.

I think ABC saw this as their chance to get rid of a problem without having to get their hands dirty. They too issued a statement,

Rosie is an immensely talented star who comes in each and every morning brimming with ideas, excitement and passion for the show. When she told us she wanted to exit ‘The View,’ we respected and understood her desire to put her well-being and her family first. We’re delighted she’s still part of the ABC family with upcoming guest appearances on ‘The Fosters,’ and we know she’ll return to ‘The View’ often with her unique point of view and updates on her work and her family.

WHAT ABOUT PEREZ?

Rosie Perez was back Tuesday of this week and producers have shut down the rumors of her leaving the show.

WILL THE SHOW GET CANCELLED?

Not likely. Before the ladies of “The Talk” celebrate too much, to be fair: Whoopi was out that week they bested “The View” with a back injury, Rosie Perez was out for her show on Broadway and that was the week of the shootings in Paris and “The View’s” Friday show was preempted on the East Coast.

ABC owns and produces “The View” and sells it to 200 stations. That 11:00 time slot is prime time. If the show was cancelled and filled with a non ABC produced show, then that would mean significantly less money for the network and they would lose that coveted daytime slot. It’s much better for the producers to continue to fix the bike as they ride it, rather then shut down and try to reboot or replace. Because when they are ready to re-sell, they will find they have no buyers.

The big question is, “IF NOT O’DONNELL IS OUT – THAN WHO IS IN?

This guy has my vote! What say you?