Barbara Says 'Bye-Bye'

Late Sunday night Barbara Walters took to Twitter to announce that she is retiring “next summer.” She will make the formal announcement Monday morning on “The View.”

Big news – and I want to tell you first: abcn.ws/19gEaKv. (Looking forward to one more great year!)

— Barbara Walters (@BarbaraJWalters) May 13, 2013

On ABCNews.com, Walters provided an official statement praising her time on “The View.” “I am very happy with my decision and look forward to a wonderful and special year ahead both on ‘The View’ and with ABC News,” she said. “I created ‘The View’ and am delighted it will last beyond my leaving it.”

Walters told the New York Times, “I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain. I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women–and OK, some men too–who will be taking my place.”