Giselle Blondet leaves Telemundo show ‘La Mesa Caliente’ amid health concerns
After four years as cohost of “La Mesa Caliente” on Telemundo, Giselle Blondet has left the show. The announcement was made by her colleague Verónica Bastos on Monday’s show.
“Today we end ‘La mesa caliente’ with news that affects all of us,” Bastos said. “Our beloved Giselle Blondet has been absent while attending to a medical situation; today we say goodbye to her with hearts full of gratitude and wishing that soon we’ll see her shine again in good health.”
Blondet’s highlights during her time Telemundo were featured in a video with clips of her discussing a number of issues, kissing the occasional guest, and even doing her best Selena Quintanilla impression.
Blondet, 62, has a long career that started in telenovelas and film, later becoming one of Puerto Rico’s most beloved figures and a favorite of Spanish-language television in the United States.
A mother of three and a grandmother, Blondet, born in New York City, was one of the founding hosts of “Despierta América” on Univision, and she spent a decade as one of the presenters and favorite judges of the contest “Nuestra Belleza Latina,” one of Univision’s flagship programs, where she was among the highest-paid talents.
Blondet, delicate health
The presenter receives the news amid an undisclosed medical situation following a second surgical procedure. She has, however, kept her followers on social media updated about her progress.
“Life has tested me again and here I am, coming out of a second operation. It hasn’t been easy, but God knows why He allows these pauses,” Blondet told her one million Instagram followers.
“Right now my body is asking me to rest, for a couple of weeks. My only absolute priority is my health and recovering so I can be well for my family and for you, who are my driving force,” she confessed in a post two days ago before news of her departure from Telemundo was announced.
In 2022, Blondet decided to have her breast implants removed, as several public figures have acknowledged, to improve her health.
At that time she shared that she suffered constant pain, tiredness, and fatigue, which in turn complicated a condition of rheumatoid arthritis that began when she was hit by a ball.
Blondet, always optimistic, prioritizes the “here and now” in her life, she said in an interview with the Nuevo Herald on her 60th birthday.
“You have to start seeing it as the celebration of something important, life,” she said about getting older. “You have to start to see that those hard things we may have gone through, we survived them. We’re here and it’s an opportunity we have to do things differently and keep dreaming and creating.
Departures from ‘La mesa caliente’
Blondet’s exit from “La mesa caliente” adds to a significant loss for the 3 p.m. show following the dismissal of Myrka Dellanos from Telemundo in October.
Dellanos joined “La mesa caliente” in 2022 as part of the original hosting team, which also included Alix Aspe, who left the show in May 2023 after failing to reach a contract renewal agreement with Telemundo.
Bastos, now the only one remaining of the four original hosts, was also the one who delivered the news when Aspe left the program.
“La mesa caliente” currently features several guest presenters such as Andrea Meza, Miss Universo 2020, and Venezuelan Lindsay Casinelli, who left Univision in March 2025 after working in Sports and on “Despierta América.”
Bastos wished Blondet a speedy recovery.
“We thank you for opening your heart to us and reminding us that television is a space to reconnect. I wish you every success in every step you take because we know the best is yet to come,” Bastos said.
