Southampton TV presenter Fiona Phillips is leaving GMTV after 12 years to devote more time to her children and her elderly father, her agent confirmed.
The 47-year-old former Millbrook School pupil will leave the programme at the end of this year.
In a statement released by GMTV she said it had been "the hardest decision I have ever made".
"I love the job but I've got other responsibilities - the children, a home life and an elderly dad who needs me - and I've recognised that I can't have it all," she said.
Ms Phillips has been the breakfast show's main anchor since 1996.
She joined the show in 1993 as entertainment correspondent and spent two years in the US as the LA correspondent before landing the top job on the sofa.
Despite her departure the presenter will not be disappearing from our screens entirely. Her agent said last night: "Fiona is leaving GMTV but she is not leaving television."
The presenter is married to the programme editor Martin Frizell and the couple have two sons Nathanial, 9 and Mackenzie, 6.
She is leaving midway through a three-year £1.5 million contract.
In her time with the programme she has covered the OJ Simpson trial, the Los Angeles earthquake and interviewed everyone from Brad Pitt to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
She started her career in independent radio working for local stations County Sound, Hereward Radio and Radio Mercury before joining BBC's South and East Weekend Programme as co-presenter.
