When Ellen DeGeneres announced that she was ending her talk show, it was a surprise to all of her viewers, but it wasn’t a recent decision. According to the comedian and long-time talk show host, when she renewed the show for 3 seasons 2 years ago, she knew she wasn’t going to renew the contract again and that season 19 (which will end in 2022) would be her final season. According to DeGeneres, the decision to end the show had nothing to do with allegations about a toxic workplace environment.

Although DeGeneres has been planning on ending her show in 2022 for quite awhile, she still gets emotional when talking about it. During the opening monologue of her show which was filmed Wednesday and set to air Thursday, she spoke to the audience and the viewers about why she is ending the show. Even though she made jokes that got a laugh, it looked like she was holding back tears.

DeGeneres explained that it’s about timing, and that her instinct tells her that it’s the right time to end the show. However, that doesn’t mean she’s going to phone it in for her final season. She said, “I promise you that we are going to have a fantastic final season. It will be a season where I truly get to say, ‘Thank you. Thank you all.”

Watch clips from her emotional opening monologue below.

Do you agree with DeGeneres that it’s the right time for her show to end? What do you think she will do after her talk show ends? How do you think she will say “thank you” during the final season? What are you going to miss most about her show?