By India McCarty
Ricki Lake had one of the most successful daytime talk shows of the ’90s — so why did she pull the plug on it?
“I could have done it for probably a decade longer,” she said during a recent episode of ON PAR WITH MAURY POVICH. “I made that choice. 9/11 was a huge trajectory shift in my life. Every aspect of my life changed from witnessing that experience that day from my West Village apartment.”
Lake continued, “I was so freaked out watching that plane fly down the Hudson and hit that building. I had a 2 month old and a 4 year old. So I was a lactating new mother protecting my cubs, you know? I mean, I just felt like the world was coming to an end that day. And I said to myself — I had an epiphany on the roof of my building as I watched it all unfold — that I would leave New York.”
Related: Chris Pratt’s Important Message on 9/11
She wouldn’t just leave New York, though; Lake also moved on from her talk show and her marriage.
“I would leave my job and I would ultimately leave my marriage. And it took a lot of planning,” she explained. “It took a couple years to finish my contract. I couldn’t [immediately] walk away from my show, but I knew I wasn’t going to renew beyond the term that I had agreed to.”
When speaking about her decision to leave her talk show in a 2019 interview, Lake said, “After 9/11, which I witnessed firsthand living downtown in Manhattan, and having to go back to work two days after I watched the plane hit a building firsthand…I was like, ‘This is not what I want my legacy to be.’”
When asked if she missed her show, Lake was quick to reply, “Not for one second.”
Lake has since appeared on DANCING WITH THE STARS and THE MASKED SINGER, produced a documentary about childbirth, THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, and even returned to daytime television with 2013’s THE RICKI LAKE SHOW.
The former talk show host recently celebrated the return of several priceless family photos. Lake’s family home was destroyed by the 2025 LA wildfires, along with all their pictures. However, a fan happened to find some copies at a flea market and returned them to Lake.
“I cannot thank you enough for your generosity,” Lake told artist Patty Scanlon, who had purchased the photos to use for her artwork. “The fact that I’m gonna get something back that I thought was lost forever makes me so happy…It means everything to me.”
She called the artist an “angel,” adding, “You made this year that’s been such a challenging and remarkable year…It feels so heartwarming. It’s just truly, truly heartwarming.”
Read Next: Dr. Ted Baehr’s Reflections on 9/11
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