Well, this is unexpected. One day after an [E! News](http://www.eonline.com/shows/enews)_ rep confirmed veteran TV host Catt Sadler was leaving the network after 12 years, the 43-year-old has revealed her exit was due to her co-anchor Jason Kennedy earning “double” her salary. “I know firsthand that dreams do come true. For the past twelve years, I’ve been living mine out loud as one of the hosts on E! television. For more than a decade I’ve walked through the doors at E! and traveled into people’s living rooms around the world… Then, this year happened. Daily Pop was born. I was named host which meant double duty. Hosting a live, two-hour daytime show while also hosting E! News most nights. It was creatively challenging but genuinely one of the most fulfilling years of my professional career,” Catt wrote on her blog The Catt Walk.

“Coincidentally, around this same time, an executive from E! brought something alarming to my attention — namely, that there was a massive disparity in pay between my similarly situated male co-host and myself. More recently, when E! reached out to renew and extend my deal, I learned that he wasn’t just making a little more than I was. In fact, he was making close to double my salary for the past several years,” she continued. “Information is power. Or it should be. We are living in a new era. The gender pay gap is shrinking, although admittedly we have a long way to go. And well, I learned this first hand. My team and I asked for what I know I deserve and were denied repeatedly.”

catt sadler jason kennedy getty images

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

“Know your worth. I have two decades experience in broadcasting and started at the network the very same year as my close friend and colleague that I adore. I so lovingly refer to him as my ‘TV husband’ and I mean it. But how can I operate with integrity and stay on at E! if they’re not willing to pay me the same as him? Or at least come close? How can I accept an offer that shows they do not value my contributions and paralleled dedication all these years?
How can I not echo the actions of my heroes and stand for what is right no matter what the cost? How can I remain silent when my rights under the law have been violated?” Catt wrote.

“It’s scary. I am a single mother of two boys… It was my desire to stay at my job. To continue entertaining our loyal viewers around the world. To keep working alongside some of the best writers, directors, and producers in the game. Unfortunately, however, my decision was made for me and I must go… I will find more work,” she continued. “I will continue to pursue my passions while making my children proud. The way I see it, I have an obligation to be an agent for change. It was important for me to explain my departure. I did not want to disappear from your television screens and have you wonder why. Thank you for your precious time all these years. Thank you for the support. Thank you for the constant exchange of ideas on social media as well. This chapter is over and a new one begins.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc56DC6HIel/

Though we do not know Catt and Jason’s respective yearly E! salaries, multiple outlets have reported that Catt’s net worth is around $2.5 million while Jason’s is about $4 million. Following the news of Catt’s departure, an E! spokesperson released the following statement: “We wish Catt Sadler all the best in her endeavors following her decision to leave E! News. We will miss having Catt on set and appreciate her many contributions.” Catt first joined E! back in 2006 as a co-host of The Daily 10 alongside Sal Masekela and Debbie Matenopoulos. In 2010, she joined the E! News cast and co-hosted the show with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic.

When Ryan left the program in 2011, Catt’s role on the show was increased. But when Giuliana exited in 2015, Catt was passed over for the head anchor gig in favor of Maria Menounos. Maria later quit after just two years in early 2017 and Catt took over her part. She is now paired with co-star Jason Kennedy and correspondents Ken Baker, Kristin dos Santos, Melanie Bromley, Zuri Hall, Carissa Culiner, and Zanna Roberts Rassi.

In addition to E! News, the mom-of-two — she shares sons Austin, 16, and Arion, 12, with first ex-husband Kyle Boyd — hosts E!’s Daily Pop and regularly appears on the network’s Live from the Red Carpet coverage. Though we don’t yet know the reason for Catt’s departure, she did recently go through another divorce from her second husband, Rhys David Thomas.

In a previous interview, Catt explained she got her showbiz start after being “discovered” while working in her Indiana hometown. “When I was on the news in Indianapolis, I got a call from an agent at one of the most reputable firms in New York, and he told me — if fashion, arts, or entertainment is what you want to do, those jobs exist, they just don’t exist in Indiana. So we kind of orchestrated my career to get me out to the West Coast. My first full-time job was in San Francisco as an entertainment reporter. I was in there for four years, doing live shots, also anchoring, doing junkets in LA and New York, and interviewing celebrities for the first time,” she recalled.