'Matty In The Morning' Co-Host Bex Maroun Leaving Kiss 108

MASSACHUSETTS — "Matty in the Morning" co-host Rebekah "Bex" Maroun is leaving Kiss 108, the latest in a rocky month for the network's flagship program.

Maroun announced on Wednesday's show she is moving back to her native Philadelphia.

"When COVID hit, everything in my life sort of changed. I realized how much I missed my family and my friends and being surrounded by the people that I wanted to be close to," she said.

Maroun, who joined Kiss 108 in 2018, served as the co-host and executive producer of "Matty in the Morning."

"It's been such a privilege to be part of this show," she said.

The popular radio show made headlines May 19 when longtime host Matty Siegel ended an on-air rant by saying he was quitting. A day later, he was back in the host's chair, leaving some confusion over whether the blow-up was legitimate or a ratings ploy.

"I had long, long conversations yesterday with the company, and the company said, 'Listen, man, do your thing. We'll get out of your way,'" Siegel, 71, said May 20. "I didn't expect that and, so, I'm back."

He then went on to make a joke about Demi Lovato — the same kind that prompted the reprimand that led to the previous day's rant. On both mornings, Siegel suggested he was being censored and that he was simply saying "what a lot of people were thinking."

The May 20 show was capped by a dust-up between Maroun and Siegel, who criticized his co-host for not posting the audio from the previous episode on the network's website. Maroun said the call was made "way above" her.

"Don't you ever do that. You work for me," Siegel said.

"Matty In The Morning" made its debut on Jan. 12, 1981, and Siegel outlasted other, high-profile deejays who mixed discussion about current events and artist interviews with music in what was once a competitive radio market in Boston. Over the past 20 years, Siegel's show has been a ratings juggernaut and consistently been the highest-rated Boston radio show among women ages 18 to 49.

The show has 450,000 weekly listeners. In addition to a cast of regular co-hosts and characters, Siegel's guest have included Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Bette Midler, Cher, Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell and Michael J. Fox.