Finally Breaking Their Silence On ABC Firing: Amy Robach Recalls ‘Terrifying’ Welfare Check She Did on T.J. Holmes, Says There Were Days She ‘Wanted to Die’
Controversial couple, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are finally breaking their silence on their ABC firings following the public disclosure of their personal relationship. The two explain how their original plan to let the world know about their romance completely failed, and how the aftermath ultimately affected their mental health.
On the first episode of their new iHeartMedia podcast, called Amy & T.J., the pair talked about their subsequent departure from GMA3 last year after the tabloid revealed that the two — who were still married to their respective partners — were in a relationship. A spokesperson for ABC said earlier this year that “we all agreed it’s best for everyone that they move on.”
Reacting to their unexpected exit, Holmes said on the podcast Tuesday, “I guess the best way to sum us up, Amy and T.J., is that we’re the folks who lost the jobs we love because we love each other.” Meanwhile, Robach recalled the moment “We each got a phone call from our bosses saying that they had made the decision — and they made it again a point to say we hadn’t violated any company policy — but because we had become a distraction that they thought it would be best if they temporarily took us off the air to let things quiet down. And I remember I said … Now this is going to be a story if you take us off the air, please don’t do this.” Holmes added, “That was the morning we knew we would not be going back to that network. We knew that phone call sealed it, because you can’t come back from that.”
Robach said that had intentions of finalizing their divorces, and then telling ABC management and the public that they were a couple. However, the media beat them to it.
Further into their show, Robach detailed how their public exits affected their mental health.
Robach shared a “terrifying” story of having to do a “wellness check” on Holmes after photos of them together leaked and started circulating online. She recalled him sending her text message in the “past tense.”
Robach says that one of Holmes’ messages read, “I’m sorry, you were the love of my life. I’m so sorry this has happened.” Holmes admitted, “When I was sending them to you, I didn’t know how I was sounding. I’m not sure where my head was at that time.” After not getting a quick response from him, she said she started to “panic.”
“I was so afraid that he had done something,” she remembered.
Roach and her father thrn rushed to his home. She described herself as being “pretty hysterical” on her way there.
“I remember going down the hall, opening the door, and my dad came in with me. And I saw you and you were just splayed out on your bed,” an emotional Robach recalled. “I ran to you. I said, ‘T.J.!’ and you didn’t move. And I remember, it was the most awful thing, having to touch your body to see if you were warm. I was so afraid. You were just incoherent.”
It wasn’t just Holmes who had a bad breakdown. Robach also shared, she too had a low moment:
“You go through cancer, and, yes, you’re afraid to die, but you’re fighting to live,” she explained. “And you’ve got all these people around you, supporting you and cheering you on, and you feel this collective hug from people who are lifting you up when you’re scared and you’re going through all of these treatments. But this year, I wanted to die. There were days where I wanted to die and that was something I’d never experienced before in my life. I just didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to see what new headline was going to be out there.”
How Are They Doing Now?
Robach said during the show, “I can say that I’ve never been happier. I am with my best friend.”