One of Houston’s most recognizable faces and personalities is leaving town, but fortunately for fans, not terribly far. Former Channel 2 star anchor and current YouTube phenomenon Dominique Sachse is headed to Dallas.

Sachse announced the news on her YouTube channel, Over 50 & Flourishing, to her nearly 2 million followers on January 8.

“Houston will forever hold a special place in my heart,” she tells CultureMap exclusively, “and I am eternally thankful for the invaluable experiences it has provided me. Transitioning to the DFW area signifies the commencement of a fresh chapter and exciting opportunities in my life, all while preserving the foundation I have diligently established.”

“Moreover, I take pride in remaining in the greatest state of them all! Eager for new connections, growth, and spreading my wings. Here’s to making bold moves after 50!”

Dominique’s bold move

Her departure to the Dallas-Fort Worth area is a surprising turn for the consummate Houston girl who moved here in the ’70s, grew up in Memorial, attended the University of Houston, worked in radio, effortlessly transitioned to TV — and never looked back.

So bold is the influencer/media star’s move, she can’t say what she’s doing next — yet.

“There’s a big announcement and there’s a big, big, big, big change — like, huge life change coming my way,” Sachse revealed to fans on January 8. “And when I say that this came out of left field — and literally out of the blue — and landed on my lap, I kid you not.”

This new opportunity is so game-changing, it “dropped my jaw to the ground,” she said on the episode, “and I sat there and I really had to process what was just landing on me. What is this? Where did this come from? Why?” Teasing a “seed” that she says God planted in her long ago, Sachse added that, “as I started to kind of add everything up and string things together, it all made absolute, perfect sense. Perfect sense as to why this was happening now in my life.”

From tragedy to triumph

Now, it appears an opportunity that may have once seemed passed has apparently has resurfaced. “You know it’s so funny,” she said on the show. “You can have a dream from yesteryear, you can have a goal and a vision, and maybe it didn’t materialize in a way you thought, or maybe you justified it in a different way, or analyzed it and said, ‘Well, it didn’t happen because of this, but I got to live and experience this dream or this iteration of it.’”

That iteration was a “storied career” that saw Sachse dominate local evening newscast ratings (after a once-in-a-generation leap from radio DJ to TV star), evolve into a Houston celebrity, trusted tastemaker, and YouTube star — while on YV, something she noted was “unheard of” in the industry. Indeed, Sachse is one of the few major TV anchors who was allowed such a work setup. She was soaring.

Sachse and her mother, Audrey Toll.Dominique Sachse/Instagram

But, life happened. Sachse left Channel 2 and transitioned to YouTube full time, and later faced a divorce and the loss of her mother and best friend, Audrey Toll, last year. A charismatic character in her own right, the equally ageless Toll passed away after a sudden cardiac event in July.

A seed set to flower, open, and bloom

Suddenly, Sachse — a mother of handsome son Styles, now in college — was essentially alone and starting anew. Rather than retreat, she has now chosen to, “abandon fear and embrace this stage of life,” she said on the podcast. “It’s not shutting down but an opportunity to open.”

Sachse’s son Styles is now in college. Dominique Sachse/Instagram

So, she declared, she is “opening myself up to something new, yet again.”

One can only speculate as to Sachse’s massive new opportunity, but it isn’t hard to envision her as an anchor or host for a national media outlet, as she always presented as a network anchor in a local role. Her leading-lady persona makes her picture perfect as a spokesperson for a household-name entity.

And given Sachse’s immense fan appeal and Q rating as a decades-long media presence — plus, her faith, which she discusses openly — a foray into politics or faith wouldn’t be a huge stretch, either.

Whatever the new journey, we imagine the woman so many here know as “Dom” will approach it with the same work ethic, approachability — and even, at times, vulnerability — that made her one of the most famous faces ever in Houston’s media landscape.