Jesse Walker, the longtime chief meteorologist at Terre Haute’s WTWO, was walked out of the Nexstar-owned station last week without the on-air farewell he had expected, according to industry newsletter FTVLive. Walker had already announced he would leave the station on Oct. 2 to start his own weather company with former WTWO meteorologist Alex Kerkhove, but the station moved up his departure, telling him his final day had already passed.
Kerkhove, who worked alongside Walker before leaving the station earlier this year, defended him in a Facebook post after the abrupt exit.
“Jesse Walker! I am sorry that the station treated someone that has dedicated his entire career to serving a community like they did.” … “Today they walked you out the door and didn’t let you say goodbye.”
Kerkhove credited Walker, who spent more than four decades at the station, with decades of school visits, severe-weather coverage and community outreach, and said he taught her to “just be yourself.”
“I’m forever grateful for your mentorship and support as a meteorologist and also as a friend. You’ll always be my ‘station dad’ — someone who always looked out for me. Sorry leaving wasn’t on your terms, but your legacy as the chief meteorologist is something they can never take away.”
The departure caps months of internal friction over the relationship between Walker and Kerkhove, a rookie meteorologist who joined WTWO fresh out of college and left after about a year on the job. Kerkhove has said she was fired; Nexstar has maintained it did not terminate her.
Anonymous station insiders told FTVLive that Walker had taken a “deep interest” in Kerkhove before she was even hired and that the two “chatted regularly” prior to her joining the station. Once she arrived, one insider said, the pair became “obsessed with each other.”
“When she wasn’t doing weather, she was attached to Jesse at the hip, and this would go on even after her shift would end.”
Another source told FTVLive: “I have no idea if these two were romantically involved, but he’s like 40 years older than her. It was very creepy.” FTVLive said it had “no clue about the relationship between Kerkhove and Walker,” though it reported some insiders felt the dynamic was not what they expected between a supervisor and a junior employee. Both Walker and Kerkhove have characterized the relationship as a mentorship and friendship.
Kerkhove previously said WTWO management tried to limit her contact with Walker, claiming she was told she could speak with him for only 15 to 20 minutes while on shift because management was monitoring security cameras. Walker publicly defended her after her departure, calling her “one of the best meteorologist I’ve had the pleasure of working with” and saying management’s handling of her exit “has made my decision for my future pretty clear now.” Kerkhove has called Walker “my rock,” saying he “fought for me time and time again.” The two continued spending time together after she left the station, including a river outing Walker posted about on Facebook, before announcing their plan to start a weather company together.
A Nexstar spokesperson gave a different account of the exit, telling The Post that Walker asked to be released from his contract and that the station honored the request.
“Several weeks ago, Jesse Walker asked to be released from his contract with WTWO, and WTWO decided to honor Jesse’s request. Prior to his departure last week, WTWO internally celebrated Jesse’s achievements and contributions to the community and worked with him to produce an on-air video tribute which aired Sept. 30 and is now on the WTWO website.”
The spokesperson also disputed Kerkhove’s account of her own departure. “WTWO-TV did not terminate the employment of Alex Kerkhove and repeatedly asked her to return to work. She chose not to do so. As this is a personnel matter, we will have no further comment.”
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