Ricki Lake reveals the life-changing event that made her QUIT her iconic talk show: 'I was so freaked out'

Ricki Lake says the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City ultimately led to the end of her talk show.

The 57-year-old star, appearing on the On Par with Maury Povich podcast Monday, explained how witnessing the attacks on the World Trade Center with her own eyes had major implications on her life and career.

'9/11 was a huge trajectory shift in my life,' the Hastings-on-Hudson, New York-born star said. 'Every aspect of my life changed from witnessing that experience that day from my West Village apartment.'

The Emmy-winning TV personality said that she no longer felt safe residing in New York City, where her talk show emanated from.

'I made that choice,' Lake said of ending her show in 2004 after 11 seasons. 'I could have done it for probably a decade longer.'

Lake explained her perspective on the fateful day as she witnessed the tragic event that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

'I was so freaked out watching that plane fly down the Hudson and hit that building,' said Lake.

Lake referenced her children Milo Sussman and Owen Sussman, now 29 and 24, as she explained her rationale for vacating the city to Povich, 87.

'I had a two-month-old and a four-year-old,' Lake said. 'So I was a lactating new mother protecting my cubs, you know?

'I mean, I just felt like the world was coming to an end that day.'

She continued, 'And I said to myself - I had an epiphany on the roof of my building as I watched it all unfold - that I would leave New York.'

Lake said that she was 33 when she decided to make a series of changes to her life.

'I would leave my job and I would ultimately leave my marriage,' she said, referencing her 2004 divorce from Rob Sussman, 60, following their separation the year before.

She continued, 'It took a lot of planning. It took a couple years to finish my contract.

'I couldn't walk away from my show, but I knew I wasn't going to renew beyond the term that I had agreed to.'

She said she subsequently moved to California and focused on 'making documentary films and being more behind the scenes.'

Lake told Povich she is satisfied by the legacy left by her work on daytime TV through the 90s and into the early 2000s.

'The show was a phenomenon,' she said, 'and I think we did so much good for young people to get conversations going.'

Lake said her program provided a televised platform for people who were 'marginalized and not represented' prior to.

'I mean, I think there's a lot of good that came out of our show,' Lake said.

Lake had been seen in John Waters films such as 1988's Hairspray and 1990's Cry-Baby prior to her foray into daytime TV.