Fox News Makes Shock Decision On ‘The Five’ Host’s Future — Fans Outraged

After years of fiery clashes, viral arguments and regularly finding herself outnumbered at the table on “The Five,” the liberal Fox News personality has secured a new three-year contract with the network.

The deal keeps one of the show’s most recognizable political counterweights in place even as “The Five” moves forward with a revamped lineup.

For Tarlov, the new agreement sends a clear message about how the network views her role.

“It’s always a great affirmation of your seat at the table,” Tarlov said of the new deal. “No matter how contentious it looks or difficult or terrible to some people, that you’re a valued element in this discourse.”

Tarlov occupies the rotating liberal seat on a program otherwise anchored by conservative personalities Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld and newly installed permanent co-host Emily Compagno, along with Dana Perino.

That frequently puts Tarlov in the middle of some of the show’s most contentious exchanges.

And she knows she doesn’t have much time to make her case.

Tarlov said she generally gets about 90 seconds to deliver her argument, forcing her to make every second count.

“If I’m going to get 90 seconds, I want to make the most of it,” she stated.

One strategy is to disarm the rest of the table before jumping into the disagreement.

Tarlov said she’ll sometimes open with humor or a backhanded compliment—something she describes as her “olive branch”—before making her argument.

But viewers watching the heated exchanges on television might be surprised by what happens after the cameras turn off.

According to Tarlov, her personal relationships with some of her biggest ideological opponents on the program are far warmer than their television battles suggest.

“Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld actually care about me as a person,” she revealed. “And that doesn’t make them soften their political opinions, even though I think that they should in some cases, especially when they’re enormously wrong.”

Those relationships aren’t limited to polite conversations in the hallway.

Tarlov said she and Gutfeld regularly exchange text messages during the week. She has visited his apartment and attended his daughter’s first birthday party.

She also communicates with Watters’ wife, Emma DiGiovine, and has socialized away from the Fox studios with Perino and Compagno.

For Tarlov, maintaining those relationships comes down to drawing a line between political disagreements and personal relationships.

“‘[It’s about] fundamentally understanding them as people and how they think about politics,” as opposed to seeing them as “a set of political opinions.”

That distinction has become an important part of Tarlov’s role on a program built around political disagreement.

The on-air battles can be intense, but Tarlov said she has learned that politics doesn’t necessarily consume the personal lives of the colleagues she debates every day.

Her time on “The Five” has also included moments far more personal than political.

Tarlov’s father died from cancer linked to 9/11 while she was pregnant with her first daughter, Cleo.

She has spoken emotionally about that loss on the air and recalled one occasion when her grief became impossible to keep contained.

“There was great relief and also discomfort,” she said, “because I had gotten to the point where it had to be addressed almost, when you’re walking around with something that’s so bottled up. …No one wants anyone to be looking at them while they’re crying. I’m also a very ugly crier, so I didn’t want that to be going on for too long.”

Tarlov said her colleagues backed off during that deeply personal moment.

Now, Fox is making clear that the political sparring will continue.

The network recently made Emily Compagno a permanent co-host of “The Five,” joining Gutfeld, Watters and Perino, while Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. continue rotating through the show’s liberal seat.

The arrangement means Tarlov will continue walking into a television environment where she is frequently outnumbered politically.

But that is also precisely what has made her role distinctive.

The arguments, interruptions and ideological clashes aren’t pushing her out the door.

Instead, Fox has handed Tarlov another three years to keep making her case from across the table.