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 has taken "GMA3: What You Need to Know" co-hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach off the air until executives from the Disney-owned network figure out how to deal with their tabloid-dominating extramarital affair.
ABC honchos initially planned not to discipline Holmes and Robach for their much-publicized affair, but ABC News' President Kim Godwin informed staffers on Monday morning that the "internal distraction" has become too significant, Fox News Digital has learned.
"I am going to take Amy and T.J. off the air while we figure this out," Godwin told staffers during an internal call, a source close to the situation said. On Monday, a substitute "GMA3" host told viewers that Holmes and Robach "had the day off."
In a series of recent tabloid bombshells, it was revealed that Holmes and Robach are ending their marriages after becoming romantically involved with each other. Godwin reiterated that no company rules were violated but feels the ordeal has become too much of a distraction for the network.
ABC News’ T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach co-host "GMA3: What You Need to Know," an extension of the flagship "Good Morning America." (Sc)
Gio Benitez and Stephanie Ramos will host "GMA3" on Monday while ABC attempts to sort things out. Robach and Holmes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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 week in a story that included several intimate photos of the midday anchors taken throughout November.
The New York Post then published a series of exclusives, providing steamy details of the relationship. The Post also reported Holmes and Robach "began their alleged romance while they were training for the New York City Half Marathon in March but didn’t leave their respective spouses, Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig, until August."
An alleged 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 tabloid stories have been filled with salacious details, such as the duo allegedly going to "great lengths" to hide their affair but getting caught on a "getaway to a remote cottage where a photo showed Holmes grabbing Robach’s butt as she leaned into the trunk of a car."
On Friday, Holmes and Robach were not expected to address the situation on air, according to a network source. However, as the show opened, Holmes made what could have been a subtle hint to the drama surrounding the pair, saying with a smile, "Too bad it's Friday. It's been a great week. I just want this one to keep going and going and going. Just enjoying it."
"Speak for yourself," Robach said, laughing. "I am very excited about the weekend, and I'm sure everyone else is, too. We all love our Fridays around here. Some of us do, at least."
Amy Robach and Andrew Shue attend the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Boston Hot Pink Party 2015 at the Seaport World Trade Center on May 14, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Getty Images)
Robach has been married to former "Melrose Place" star Shue for 12 years. Shue and Robach co-wrote a 2021 children’s book called, "Better Together," based on their blended family.
Holmes has been married to Fiebig since 2010.
Until Robach became tabloid fodder, she was perhaps best known as the ABC News anchor famously 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.
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Fox News’ Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report. This article was updated with information about Monday's show.