Ellina Abovian broke her silence Thursday, confirming she was “blindsided” by her sudden ousterfrom KTLA after 11 years at the Los Angeles station.
“Yes, it’s true. I’m not at KTLA anymore, and I won’t be returning,” Abovian said in an emotional Instagram video posted on Thursday — one day after news of the layoffs surfaced.
“Earlier this week, I, along with several of my KTLA dear friends and colleagues, were laid off as part of corporate restructuring,” she said.
The veteran reporter and anchor said she learned she would not be coming back just as she was preparing to celebrate a milestone birthday.
“Come Monday, I will not be returning to the job I held every day for 11 years,” she said.
“It’s been 11 years of being in your living room every day. It’s been 11 years of telling your stories, and I’m going to miss it.”
Abovian described the shock of learning she would no longer be employed at the station.
“I was not expecting this. I was blindsided, and it hurts. It cuts deep because I cared about what I did,” she said.
The mother of two also spoke about the personal toll.
“I’m now processing what I’m going to do as a single mom to two kids,” she said. “Life gets real when it gets real.”
Abovian was among several prominent on-air figures let go this week from KTLA, which is owned by Nexstar Media Group.
Veteran anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker, longtime meteorologist Mark Kriski and weathercaster Kacey Montoya were also shown the door.
Adding to the sting, the anchors were not given the opportunity to bid farewell to viewers, according to a report by the California Post.
Carlos Herrera, an on-air staffer who was spared the axe, acknowledged the shakeup to viewers on Thursday but said the newsroom was “extremely limited in what we can say.”
“This is a difficult time for us, and we will go through it together,” Herrera said, addressing viewers from the anchor desk.
The California Post also obtained an internal memo from News Director Erica Hill-Rodriguez, who told staff she was “not yet able to share any confidential details” about the firings.
Admitting to “incredibly difficult and sad times,” Hill-Rodriguez wrote that her “heart is with everyone on our team as we navigate these challenging times,” while declining to elaborate on the circumstances.
The layoffs come as Nexstar pushes forward with its proposed $6 billion acquisition of broadcaster TEGNA, a deal that has drawn scrutiny from regulators and union leaders amid ongoing newsroom cuts.
For Abovian, however, the focus was on gratitude — and moving forward.
“KTLA is not the only mountain I’m ever going to climb,” she said. “In fact, this is just the beginning.”
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