“After much prayer and careful consideration, Will and I have separated,” Ainsley Earhardt said

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt is separating from her husband, Will Proctor.

In a statement from Earhardt, 42, via a Fox News spokesperson on Tuesday, she announced that the pair had separated after six years of marriage.

“After much prayer and careful consideration, Will and I have separated,” said Earhardt, who joined the network in 2007.

“I am grateful to Fox for their support and allowing me to spend all day, everyday after the morning show with my child,” continued the mother of one.

The Light Within Me and Take Heart, My Child: A Mother’s Dream author, who shares young daughter Hayden with Proctor, whom she wed in 2012, said she is focused on parenting amid the split.

“I am fully committed to parenting and doing what is always best for my darling, little girl,” said Earhardt, “and would appreciate privacy and prayers during this difficult time.”

The South Carolina native broke into the broadcasting world close to home: she’s from Columbia, where the University of South Carolina is located, and attended the university, too.

After toying with the idea of a career as an orthodontist, she switched to broadcast journalism. Following graduation, she landed her first on-air job in Columbia; after five years there, she relocated to San Antonio, Texas, for a bit before heading up north in 2007, when she started at Fox, working the weekend show. In 2016, she joined Fox & Friends.

Speaking with PEOPLE after she joined the show, Earhardt opened up about being a positive example to her daughter.

“She’s going to grow up in a home where she sees a mom who is really happy and loves her job,” shared Earhardt, who wants to encourage her daughter to pursue her passions.

“I would have been a fine orthodontist,” Earhardt said with a smile. “But I’m better here.”

Proctor, 34, a former Clemson University quarterback who works in finance at Neuberger Berman, is Earhardt’s second husband. She was previously married to Kevin McKinney from 2005-09.

The Daily Mail was the first to report the news.

Fox & Friends airs weekdays on Fox News.