GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRES
GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRES
For over 30 years, Gayle Guaiardo has been *** trusted voice here in the Tampa Bay Area. Today we celebrate her journey at WFLA. Here’s my story. She’s all about Tampa Bay by birth, by voice, by legacy. *** 3rd generation local, Gayle Guaiardo did. Just find her way into television. Television found her. My mom was in television here in Tampa, Florida, both for Pulse 13 back before it was *** Fox affiliate and right here at Channel 8. She had *** show called Fashion for You. And that was long before I was born, but she always had this journalistic, you know, TV personality. Then came the opportunity, and it came right here at home. I got my big break back in 1993 when I was the weekend anchor for WFLA. I’ve been walking into this television station for 26 years, but prior to that we were on Jackson Street in downtown Tampa where the rum. Hello magnet school is and um it was *** big break for me back in the day and Tampa’s home. So to grow up and grow up on the airwaves has been really remarkable. You know, morning news wasn’t glamorous back then. It was the shift no one wanted, but Gayle, she turned it into *** daily ritual for Tampa Bay. When I started in morning news, which was 1994, it was the 6 a.m. newscast. Back then that was. Considered *** graveyard shift. Morning news was nothing. That was like the shift you didn’t want. But over the years it evolved and we had *** 5:30 show, *** 5:00 a.m. show, *** 4:30 show, *** 400 a.m. show. Eventually we were going from 4:30 until 9 a.m. and it was an incredible experience to build *** morning show alongside Bill Ratliff back in the day and John Winner. And then, you know, fast forward, we continued for 26 years. I was. You know, at the helm of the morning newscast, but her influence wasn’t built only behind the desk, it was earned beyond it, out in the community. People that can read *** teleprompter come and go, but you need to get out in your community. This is your hometown, and you have to start telling stories. So not only did people invite me into their homes by watching me on television, but I was out there, you know, with my cameraman telling one story after the next after the next. Then everything stopped. The voice, the routine, and life delivered loss after loss. I lost my dad. I lost my mom. I lost my voice. Even my dog died, and, you know, everything seemed to vanish. Reinvention doesn’t always come with headlines. Sometimes it begins quietly through healing. They called me up and they’re like, Listen, we’ve been trying to get this health and wellness show going. Can you give it *** try? It’s only 1 hour *** day, not 4.5 hours of, you know, talking and. Talking and talking and by that time I had gone through 6 full months of treatment, surgery, all of these things. So I said, sure. So they started me part time to see if I could, you know, manage my way through it and then eventually it turned into *** full-time job and really the incredible opportunity to build something from the ground up that was news that you could use, you know, now if it bleeds it leads. If it’s divisive, it’s what airs, but this particular show is about. How we can help you live *** better life mentally, physically, spiritually. That evolution didn’t just change the show, it changed her. By leaning into the very messaging that we brought to our viewers, my life transformed in *** positive way. So I’m stepping away from this with more gratitude than I than I could ever express. When you strip away the titles and all the years on here, what remains is what mattered most to her. The greatest part of the journey would be the friendship. Tips that I’ve made in this building, but you know, when you have people invite you into their homes or they come into this studio, they become part of your fabric and of your life, and they actually genuinely mean something to me. I’ve learned that managers come and go. They have ideas of who they think would be the best on TV, but the one thing I’ll always walk away with is that without the support of the viewers, I wouldn’t be standing in the studio today. And she never looked at this job. *** spotlight. She looked at it as responsibility. When I walk into this building and it is something that I do almost like *** ritual, you know, I look up at the sky. I thank God for this incredible opportunity. I ask myself and I ask higher, how can I serve others? How can I lift others? How can I use this platform to make other people’s lives better? I’ve known Gayle for more than 2 decades. I’ve been so fortunate to have worked together many times in shared stories and in *** city that trusted her. Voice. Yeah, this isn’t just *** broadcast career. It’s *** life lived in service to the community and *** legacy she built with grace. I never, ever, ever take it for granted that I wouldn’t be here without you, and I so appreciate the endless support over the years through the highs and the lows and just from the bottom of my heart. I just thank you. All right, that’s *** wrap from WFLA studios for Good Life Tampa Bay on MORT TV. I’m H John Mejia.
GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRES
GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRES
Updated: 11:11 AM EST Feb 13, 2026
GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRESTampa Bay watched her for decades. Now Good Life Tampa Bay’s TV host “H” John Mejia shares a powerful tribute to Gayle Guyardo’s remarkable career.
GOOD LIFE TAMPA BAY: GAYLE GUYARDO RETIRES
Tampa Bay watched her for decades. Now Good Life Tampa Bay’s TV host “H” John Mejia shares a powerful tribute to Gayle Guyardo’s remarkable career.