Megyn Kelly hints she may leave Fox News when her contract ends next year after the presidential election 

  • The 45-year-old anchor told Variety that she hasn't decided whether to stay with Fox News when her contract ends in 2017 
  • 'Never say never. I don’t know what’s going to happen,' Kelly said  
  • Kelly rose to even more prominence this year when she incited the wrath of Donald Trump for her tough questions at the first GOP debates   
  • After the first debate, executives at rival networks told Daily Mail Online that Kelly was a hot commodity who they 'would kill' to hire

By Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:09 EST, 6 April 2016 | Updated: 14:51 EST, 6 April 2016

Fox News may be about to lose their star anchor Megyn Kelly, whose contract is set to expire next year. 

When asked by a Variety reporter if she's decided whether or not to stay at her long-time network after the presidential election, Kelly responded 'I haven't'. 

The 45-year-old journalist went on to say that she loves her boss, Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, but that her job causes a lot of 'brain damage'. 

Megyn Kelly's contract with Fox News ends in 2017, and the star anchor says she's not sure whether she will stay with the network or not

'Never say never. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve had a great 12 years here, and I really like working for Roger Ailes. I really like my show, and I love my team. 

'But you know, there’s a lot of brain damage that comes from the job. There was probably less brain damage when I worked in the afternoon. I was less well known. I had far less conflict in my life. 

'I also have three kids who are soon going to be school from 8am to 3pm I come to work at 3:30. I like to see my children. 

Never say never. I don't know what's going to happen. I've had a great 12 years here... 

'Having said that, my boss has been good about working with me to make me happy - he knows I’m a hard worker. I’ve had few problems here where I couldn’t talk to him and say, “Can we work something out?,” and come away happy,' Kelly said. 

Kelly's public profile was raised this year when she incited the fury of Donald Trump for her tough questions at the first GOP debate in August. 

Since then, the Donald has continued to call Kelly a 'bimbo' and other disparaging comments on Twitter, putting the conservative network in the difficult position of defending their star anchor, while at the same time maintaining an open line of communication with the Republican front-runner.

While Kelly says she doesn't blame Ailes for not condemning Trump more for his abuses against her, she says the situation has nonetheless been awkward. 

'Fox News has been in a tough position. They care about me and they are not afraid of a fight, but we’re in unchartered territory.

Kelly also weighed in on Trump's (pictured) personal attacks against her, saying her boss, Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, was put 'in a touch position'

Kelly also weighed in on Donald Trump's (right) personal attacks against her, saying her boss, Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (left), was put 'in a touch position' 

'I’ve had many conversations with [Ailes] about the situation. I think it’s been hard on him, too. I don’t think he’s enjoyed one piece of this. 

'He can see what happens in my life when Trump starts off. He really wants him to stop, but on the other hand, he’s not going to run a news channel that doesn’t provide access to the Republican frontrunner for president,' Kelly said. 

When pressed about what options she sees in her future, Kelly pretty much shot down hosting a daytime talk show or morning news. 

Kelly says she's thought about hosting her own talk show but isn't sure 'what the market looks like for that in 2016' and just doesn't  think 'that's the perfect thing for me'.

As for co-hosting a morning show like NBC's Today, Kelly said she's tried that before and she's not much of a morning person. 

'You have to wake up so early. The alarm goes off at 3:30am. When I did “America’s Newsroom,” which started at 9am, I remember saying to the makeup artist at the time, "If you could only know the afternoon me, you’d like me so much better,"' Kelly said. 

If Kelly does indeed decide to leave her long-time network, one thing is certain - she won't be unemployed for long.

After her performance during the first GOP debates, several executives at rival networks told Daily Mail Online that Kelly was a hot commodity who could be the next Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer.

'Because of her commanding presence at the debate, Megyn's the hottest property in TV News for now and into the future,' revealed a news executive for one of the three networks who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. 

Another network news executive, a powerful female, who watched the debate on rival Fox network said, 'It's clear Ms. Kelly was the star of the evening, and my news division would kill in a New York minute to have her anchoring the evening news and doing special reports. She's worth many millions a year.' 

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