Molly Qerim is having fun with a getaway to Abu Dhabi following her September cut up from ESPN, as seen in an Instagram Story submit on Thursday.
The former “First Take” host, who abruptly resigned amid contract negotiations, shared a snapshot of herself strolling on a seashore while trying out at the ocean.
Qerim, who was carrying a crotchet gown, tagged Visit Abu Dhabi and MELT Live, an invitation only occasion by Steve Harvey Global and OWS Capital.
Molly Qerim in Abu Dhabi following her September cut up from ESPN, as seen in an Instagram Story submit on Thursday. Instagram/Molly Qerim
It seems Qerim, 41, was there for the MELT Padel Tournament, which took place at Fahid Beach Club By Barbossa on Thursday.
Qerim — who hosted “First Take” alongside Stephen A. Smith for 10 years and labored at ESPN since 2005 —announced her departure from ESPN on her Instagram Story in September, including the news “came out earlier than I intended.”
Qerim’s announcement came hours after Sports Business Journal reported that she turned down ESPN’s provide for a new contract and would depart the community at the finish of 2025.
Molly Qerim attends ESPN “First Take” at Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College on November 8, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
ESPN announced that Shae Cornette, who beforehand hosted “SportsCenter,” would succeed Qerim, after a few weeks of a tryout with a rotation of in-house hosts, including Amina Smith, MJ Acosta Ruiz and Courtney Cronin.
Last month, Cornette informed The Post in a wide-ranging interview that she hadn’t spoken to Qerim.
“Molly and I have only met like a handful of times,” Cornette said. “When I was there we met a few instances when I was doing radio. Always so variety and so candy.
“That’s not to say I wouldn’t reach out to her. I would.”
Shae Cornette on the set of “First Take” on ESPN in 2025. Instagram / Shae Cornette
Cornette, 39, applauded Qerim for making the job look “effortless” across a decade in the host seat.
“Listen, she was on that show for 10 years, and it is hard to talk about a lot of different topics with a lot of different personalities for ten years straight,” Cornette said. “And I know that that takes someone with not only a lot of stamina and information, but also someone that has a lot of grace that I know that she’s had. And everyone I know that knows her has informed me that she has.
In an interview with The Athletic last month, Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content material, defined that prior to Qerim asserting her departure from the Worldwide Leader, both sides had already decided that she would be taken off of “First Take” when her contract expired at the finish of 2025.
Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim converse onstage for the “First Take” panel during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 20, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images for Fanatics
Magnus shared they were in renewal conversations with Qerim, who he felt needed to “explore other things” — and in the finish, “we just weren’t totally aligned.”
He made it clear that ESPN needed Qerim to keep at the firm.
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