Suzanne Somers' Reasons For Turning Down An Original Co-Host Seat On The View

No matter how you knew her best, we can all agree that Suzanne Somers was a true TV legend. From Thighmaster queen to leading lady of both "Three's Company" and "Step by Step," Somers had more than a few important titles. And, there was one title that the star almost had that you probably didn't know about: co-host of "The View." The talk show has had quite a few different co-hosts since it first premiered back in 1997, and while Somers was never among them, she was nearly one of the originals. 

In 2023, Somers appeared on the podcast, "Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef." During the episode, she opened up about her experience with "The View" and why she chose not to take the job. "I was originally asked to be on the original 'View' with Barbara Walters and whoever else, and I turned it down," she explained. The talk show's premise is to field discussions about important or popular topics among women with different viewpoints, and Somers didn't think this was a great fit for her. "I said, 'First of all, I have to live in New York. I don't really wanna live in New York. I like the weather down here, and I like the vibe down here,'" the California resident recalled. "But secondly, I don't do well vying for time. And there, you gotta interrupt and butt in and butt out. It's just not my personality."

It seems that Somers was confident that she made the right decision about being a co-host on "The View," saying she "walked away from that" and "never looked back" on her episode of "Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef." Even so, many folks were surprised that she wouldn't go for the coveted opportunity. She explained, "Everyone said, 'Why would you turn that down? It is a national show.'" Still, despite the naysayers, Somers knew herself well enough to know that this wasn't the right job for her. And, luckily, she was always able to let us know her opinions in her own way. 

During her appearance on "Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson" in 2021, Somers said that one of the most important things she learned in show business was to "figure out how to work for yourself, because when you have to work for somebody else, you're gonna end up doing it their way." Somers certainly walked the walk when it came to being her own boss and "doing it [her] way." Rather than joining someone else's talk show, she went on to have three talk shows of her own. "The Suzanne Somers Show" aired in 1994. "Suzanne Somers Breaking Through" ran online at CafeMom in 2012, and Somers even won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for her third talk show, "The Suzanne Show," in 2013.