Elizabeth
THE JOURNALIST LOOKS AHEAD TO NEW VENTURES AS SHE PREPARES TO LEAVE ABC
As she prepares to leave ABC, TV journalist Elizabeth Vargas plans for her next chapter.
Iwant you to hear some news about me, from me,” journalist Elizabeth Vargas said in a message to her friends and colleagues just before Christmas. “I will be leaving ABC News and 20/20 at the end of this historic 40th season.” A reporter at the network for 21 years and co-anchor of 20/20 for 14, her announcement surprised those who have followed her career and appreciated her openness about her struggles with anxiety and alcoholism. It was no doubt a difficult decision, but ABC News president James Goldston stated Elizabeth has decided “to pursue new ventures,” while praising her as “one of the best broadcasters in our business.” Still, Elizabeth, 55, reminded her colleagues, “This is not goodbye!”
The past few years have been challenging for her, especially after her 2014 revelation that she’d entered rehab. “I am an alcoholic,” she admitted. “I feel I have let myself and my family down.” But following another rehab stint in August 2014, Elizabeth landed back on her feet. She continued co-hosting 20/20 and published Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction. “I have learned painful lessons about what is important,” she shared. “My sobriety, while new, is hard-won and my life is so much better for it.”
She says she has much to be proud of, including sons Zachary, 14, and Samuel, 11, with ex-husband Marc Cohn. While her marriage broke up in 2014, she now tells Closer, “I’m just proud every day to have this life, to have my children. I think part of being a productive, happy person is to always be grateful.” And she aims to focus on her kids. “The best way I can teach my sons is by being a strong woman and leading by example,” she adds.
As Elizabeth looks to her future beyond ABC, she will rely on the lessons she’s learned through her struggles. “If I can help people with my story,” she says, “that makes it all the more worthwhile. Whatever I can do to help.”
— Lisa Chambers , with reporting by Jaclyn Roth
“I try to spend more days being aware of how luck y I am.” — Elizabeth