Rhea Santos grateful for 19 years in GMA: I'd like to believe they saw something in me

GMA News and Public Affairs host Rhea Santos is bidding a bittersweet goodbye to her home of 19 years.

Rhea, host of morning show "Unang Hirit" and documentary show "Tunay Na Buhay," will soon be starting a new chapter of her life: studying Broadcast and Online Journalism at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Canada.

And while she's sad to be leaving, Rhea knows that the bonds she formed in almost two decades will last, particularly the bonds with her Unang Hirit barkada.

"Hindi lang sila mga katrabaho, pamilya ko na talaga sila. Sila ang tahanan ko tuwing umaga... I love them. Thank you for changing my life," she said.

"Physically of course magiging absent ako dito, pero we have a lifetime of friendship to hold on," she added.

Rhea is also nothing but grateful for viewers for letting her live her dream to be on television.

"They have accepted me 19 years ago, bago-bago palang ako noon, nagkakamali. Pero natututo sa pagkakamali, binigyan nila ako ng pagkakataon para matuto, para gawin ang pinangarap ko gawin. So thank you for opening your homes to me every morning," she said.

The 40-year-old host recalled that 19 years ago, she was merely a segment producer focusing on stories about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.

But she had a shot of reaching for her dreams unexpectedly.

"They took me out of whatever I was doing in the editing room, took me out of covering, and they said, 'Gusto mo mag-host?' Sabi ko, oo," she added.

For a time Rhea juggled hosting and being an on-cam talent, while at the same time producing segments and doing field work.

Eventually, she was given her own shows to host.

"I'd like to believe GMA saw something in me. Siguro they saw that I was driven. And eventually, yun na nga yung mga shows na ginawa ko. And I'm very thankful na ipinagkatiwala nila sakin yung shows na yun," she said.

Rhea fell a hair short of celebrating Unang Hirit's 20th anniversary this December. Her other show, Tunay Na Buhay, will soon turn 9.

And with all the experiences and achievements she had in the past 19 years, Rhea is content to close this chapter of her life, and is looking forward to starting the new one.

"I think nagawa ko naman na yung gusto ko rin dito sa broadcast industry, although of course I will miss what I've been doing for the past 20 years. But I'm ready to take on new challenges," she said. —JST, GMA News