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WRENTHAM - To most Massachusetts' residents - and prior to only a few months ago - U.S. Sen. Scott Brown was far less recognizable than his wife, veteran WCVB-TV Channel 5 reporter Gail Huff.

Huff, a 16-year veteran of the ABC affiliate, is a daily fixture in many people's homes. Whether it's a fire, a blizzard, a robbery, or a feel-good feature, the articulate and well-respected broadcast journalist is out in the field reporting on the day's events.

Where she wasn't seen in recent months was on the campaign trail with her husband.

In a joint decision with her employer, Huff agreed to keep a low profile to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. She didn't campaign for her husband and did not report on any aspect of the election.

Huff is not giving interviews, but said, in a joint statement released with the station, that she plans to continue working at Channel 5. "I love my job at NewsCenter 5," she said. "It has been my professional home since 1993. I work with the greatest people in the business, and it would be difficult to leave them and my job behind."

Huff said she "loves to meet people and share their stories with viewers," and that she will "continue to keep my professional life completely separate from my personal life as Scott Brown's wife."

WCVB News Director Andrew Vrees said he believes Huff "did a remarkable job separating her personal life from her professional life during the campaign."

The first time Huff was seen at her husband's side at a public event since he announced his candidacy was at his victory celebration at Boston's Park Plaza hotel following his defeat of Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley.

On Thursday, she was at Brown's side in a Capitol Hill ceremony where he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden.

In addition to her high-profile job, involvement with numerous charitable organizations, and her new title of senator's wife, Huff is also known as a hands-on mother to her daughters Ayla, a senior basketball standout at Boston College and former American Idol contestant, and Arianna, an accomplished equestrian and freshman at Syracuse University.

Huff, 47, is a 1980 graduate of Waltham High School. She attended Bentley College for her undergraduate studies and Emerson College for graduate studies.

Her career in broadcast journalism began in 1984 with a job in Greenville, N.C., where she anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts at WNCT-TV.

Two years later, she joined WLNE-TV in Providence, R.I., where she worked as a general assignment reporter. She then took a job as a general assignment reporter at WFSB-TV in Hartford, Conn., before joining WCVB-TV in 1993.