Tessa Barrera is leaving her co-host position for KPRC 2’s 1pm afternoon lifestyle show, Houston Life, after three years.
The announcement was made at the beginning of Wednesday's edition of Houston Life with Barrera, essentially saying she will be more available to her family and will determine her next chapter. I would have had the full on-air exchange, except I accidentally recorded only the video with no audio! You think after 20+ years of blogging, I would have this down.
Co-host Derrick Shore says Barrera still has more time on the show. A source tells mikemcguff.com that Barrera's last day will be March 31, 2026.
I had a chance to be a guest on Houston Life after Barrera was hired for Runaway Radio. She seems just as nice off camera, and she and Shore appeared to have great chemistry even off camera. I'll add that the show is very well run and produced, and it has a nice vibe for its daily guests.
Also, I recently heard that Barrera has a podcast, so keep an eye out for it.
- Owen Conflenti after KPRC 2 Houston
Barrera, a Corpus Christi native, joined Houston Life in July 2023 alongside Shore after several months of guest co-hosting following Courtney Zavala’s departure.
She originally came to Houston in 2019 after being selected through a nationwide search to join 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ’s “The Rod Ryan Show.”
For more than a year, Barrera worked on both radio and TV, but in December 2024, she left The Buzz morning show to concentrate full-time on Houston Life.
Before arriving in H-Town, Barrera worked in Los Angeles as a news anchor and executive producer at KFI AM 640.
Before transitioning to radio, Barrera built her career in television news in Corpus Christi at KRIS 6 and KZTV Action 10 News, where she made history as the first Latina sports anchor in South Texas. She covered a wide range of teams, including the Corpus Christi Hooks, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, and area high school sports.
In addition to her broadcasting career, Barrera appeared on CMT’s Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge in 2014.
