Barbara Walters addressed her feelings about her retirement on "The View" Monday, after the official date of her departure from television was announced by ABC.
The celebrated co-host said that while she is undoubtedly "sad" to be leaving, "it's time" for her to bow out.
"It feels right for me to go," Walters said on "The View." "I love this show-- I love what we've done-- it will continue without me."
Walters plans to make her final appearance on "The View" on May 16, 2014. She has been in television since 1961 and will reportedly continue to make some appearances on ABC News. In honor of her lifelong achievements as an interviewer, the ABC News New York headquarters will also be named after her.
"I love these moments, but I also know that it's time," Walters said, adding that she and co-host Whoopi Goldberg have had conversations about such feelings before.
"I cannot tell you how much emotion and love I have for Whoopi," Walters continued, also expressing her love for her other co-hosts Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd.
Walters said that she did not want to get too emotional during the show because it was "a happy day" for her, and joked that she wouldn't want to stay on the program so long that viewers started to get tired of her.
"I don't want people to say, 'is she still here?'"
Watch the video for the full clip from "The View."