ABC's T.J. Holmes says 'it's been a great week' in aftermath of affair with co-host being exposed
ABC 'GMA3' hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach, who had a reported affair while married to other people, opened Friday's show in coy fashion.
ABC News hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach's extramarital affair continues to cause problems for the Disney-owned network as the lovebirds remain benched this week while the network conducts an internal review, Fox News Digital has learned.
Holmes and Robach, who co-host "GMA3," a midday extension of the network’s flagship show "Good Morning America," have been sidelined for the past week as reports about their infidelity dominate industry gossip and tabloid news. It has been nearly two weeks since their steamy affair was revealed, and the public relations debacle doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon as it graced the New York Post's cover as recently as Sunday.
ABC insiders initially insisted that Holmes and Robach would not be disciplined for their affair, but the couple then appeared to downplay the scandal on air Dec. 2 while joking about having a "great week." By the weekend, ABC News President Kim Godwin informed staffers the "distraction" had become too significant, and she pulled them off the air "while we figure this out."
Holmes and Robach will have missed six straight episodes of "GMA3" as of Monday. A rotating group of anchors will continue to fill in pending the completion of Godwin's probe, according to a memo sent to staffers.
"GMA3" co-hosts TJ Holmes and Amy Robach were sidelined by ABC News following revelations of their extramarital affair. (Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty Images)
Industry insiders believe parent company Disney stepped in when the scandalous tabloid fodder became reputation-mangling national news, and the New York Post reported executives were "very unhappy" that Holmes and Robach appeared to make light of the situation on air before they were sidelined.
As of Friday, an ABC News source indicated nothing has been resolved and network executives were still investigating the matter. ABC News did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday.
Holmes and Robach have been "locked in a passionate romance despite both being married to their respective spouses for the past 12 years," the Daily Mail reported last month in a story that included several intimate photos of the midday anchors taken throughout November. There has since been widespread speculation about who tipped off the Daily Mail about the extramarital affair. Some believe that someone inside ABC wanted to put an end to the unprofessional situation.
Amy Robach amd T.J. Holmes attend the 2022 ABC Disney Upfront. (Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
An extramarital affair between ABC’s "GMA3: What You Need to Know" co-hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach landed on the front page of the New York Post. (New York Post)
The Post followed with a series of bombshell exclusive reports, indicating that Holmes may have cheated on his wife with multiple ABC News staffers with "no shame."
A former "GMA" executive recently told Fox News Digital that Holmes and Robach might not return at all.
"The broken marriages and the cheating, including reports that T.J. had another affair with a different ‘GMA’ colleague, is unseemly and embarrassing and a gross violation of core Disney values," the former ABC News honcho said.
CBS' GAYLE KING RIPS 'VERY MESSY' T.J. HOLMES, AMY ROBACH AFFAIR AT ABC
Amy Robach and husband Andrew Shue. (Getty Images)
Robach has been married to former "Melrose Place" star Andrew Shue for 12 years, while Holmes has been married to Marilee Fiebig since 2010. Both marriages are reportedly ending.
Holmes and Robach did not respond to requests for comment.
"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King recently called the scandal inside the rival network "very messy and very sloppy," and expressed concern for the children involved.
"In the beginning I actually thought good on ‘Good Morning America,’ they’re not taking them off the air, two consenting adults, but then the more you read, it's just very messy, and I think, to me, it's a sad situation. You've got kids involved, you've got families involved, and I keep thinking about that," King told Bravo's Andy Cohen. "I'm very concerned about that."
Until Robach became tabloid fodder, she was perhaps best known as the ABC News anchor caught on a hot mic claiming executives at the Disney-owned network refused to air a story that would have exposed the now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein three years before it was reported. ABC News downplayed the significance of the video at the time, telling Fox News Digital that the Epstein story wasn’t fit to air.