Sara Gilbert's emotional last day on 'The Talk': Sharon Osbourne calls her 'a sister'

Sara Gilbert's last day on "The Talk" brought out the tears.

Gilbert, a producer for the program, announced she would be leaving the CBS talk show in April, calling the decision "extremely difficult" but admitted her "life was slightly out of balance." In addition to reprising her role of Darlene on ABC's "The Conners," she serves as executive producer for the reboot. She also has three children: Levi: 14, Sawyer, 12 and Rhodes, 4.

Gilbert's departure made for an emotional show, which was pre-taped and aired Friday.

"I hate doing this," said Sharon Osbourne, who's now the last of the original hosts, with her fists in the air. "Why did you make me do this?"

"Coming every day and seeing Sara... she can read me, I can read her, and if there's anything on my mind, I tell Sara," Osbourne expressed. "And, it's like now I won't have Sara here."

Osbourne continued: "She's like a sister that I never had, and it's like I can tell her things and she gives me good advice, and I know if I tell her things, it won't go anywhere else, and it's like a sacred thing…"

Sara Gilbert won't miss thisabout 'The Talk': 'I’m OK with letting that piece of it go'

Gilbert's exit appeared heartbreaking for the former reality show star.

"It is like not having your sister with you anymore, and it's gonna be hard, but she only lives down the road," Osbourne added as the hosts broke out into laughter. "I will be paying her many visits, and she's not going out from any of our lives. She's here."

Osbourne teased Gilbert's return: "I know all the times when I'm not here, I'm sure Sara will sit in for me."

Gilbert had an equally hard time during her send-off.

"I went to put my thoughts together, and... I thought, 'What do I say?' " she said, having difficulty speaking. "It was just a cliché of not having words."

The departing host said she wanted to share a story from "the beginning of the show."

"I really wanted Sharon to be on this panel, and I fought for her to be here, and she wanted to do it, and I was so grateful," Gilbert remembered. "I know this is, like, completely unprofessional, but right after she got the job, I called her and I was like, 'I don't know what I'm doing. How do I do this?' And she said, 'Just be yourself.'

"And you gave me permission to do that over these years," Gilbert went on. "We've shared so much together – so much joy and pain. And, we've been there with each other and for each other through so many moments, and I have to figure out how to not see you every day, but I'm gonna be sitting in your yard or something. I love you, and I know this is not a goodbye and that we're going to be in each other's lives, and I'll make sure of that."

Why is Sara Gilbert leaving 'The Talk?' She says her life is 'slightly out of balance'

Gilbert's other co-hosts were also moved. With tears staining her cheeks, Sheryl Underwood recalled the day she was interviewed for her position.

"I said, 'Whatever you do, keep this going for other people,' " the comedian remembered. "You care about so many people. You created something that gave a lot of people a lot of work, but you opened a lot of us into your lives. You didn't know us from Adam… to be invited to your wedding, as your wacky, black cousin…" she said with a laugh.

Underwood also complimented Gilbert for being "a great businesswoman."

"You've gotten me out of my comfort zone," she said, "and everybody needs a good friend that knows that there's more in you than even you understand, and you bring that out of people."

Before leading the ladies in a toast, Carrie Ann Inaba admitted she was initially "intimidated' by Gilbert but has found that her co-host has "the most beautiful and sensitive and compassionate heart."

Inaba added: "What I love most about you, is that I have learned so much about how to have integrity with myself" as Gilbert expects the women to be their authentic selves.

Eve, overcome with emotion, praised Gilbert for being "so sweet and… so loving."

"You've helped me be more honest," she said, adding with a laugh, "I feel smarter sitting next to you."

Another going away surprise? The co-host's wife Linda Perry took to the stage to say a few words before a performance with Gilbert's 12-year-old daughter Sawyer.

"I want everybody to know that this is a true, very inspiring human being here that is always trying to advance herself and everyone else around her," Perry said, before bringing Gilbert's daughter to the stage to perform an original song.

"So we're going to play a song for her because it's her last day," Sawyer began. "She thinks we're playing 'Shallow' but I didn't think that was special enough, so I wrote you a song. It's called 'Mama.' "

Gilbert looked on with teary eyes as Sawyer sang the song to Perry's piano playing.

Gilbert ended the show with another round of thanks to the network, the show's crew and more.

"To our audience, none of us would be here without you," she said. "Whether you have agreed with me or not, you've let me into your homes and you've allowed me to have a voice and I will miss that more than you know. This show has always been about community and connection and I want to thank you for letting me belong and thank you for listening."

Gilbert will be replaced by Marie Osmond.

Contributing: Cydney Henderson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sara Gilbert leaving 'The Talk': The host's last show is a tear-jerker