WTAE-TV Reporter Ashlie Hardway Exiting The News Business

PITTSBURGH, PA - WTAE-TV reporter Ashlie Hardway dropped a bombshell Tuesday when she announced on Facebook that she isn't just leaving the station. She's getting out of the news business entirely.

"After 8 years living my dream as a reporter for WTAE, I have made the very difficult decision to leave the news business," she stated. "I know you'll want to know why and what I'll be doing next, but those answers aren't some that I really want to get into. The decision took hours of thinking about - talking about - praying about. I am staying here in Pittsburgh just starting a new adventure."

Hardway, a Penn Hills native, was the station's Westmoreland County bureau chief. She previously worked at TV stations in Texas before joining WTAE in 2009.

"I want you to know that I have a heavy heart and tears in my eyes as I write this," Hardway said on her Facebook page. "Working as a journalist in Pittsburgh -- meeting you and telling your stories -- has been the greatest honor of my life."