Amy Robach Recalls the Moment T.J. Holmes Told Her He Loved Her After Building 'Deep Foundation of Friendship' (2024)

T.J. Holmes confessed his love for Amy Robach well before anything physical happened between them.

During an episode of the Amy & T.J. podcast, which was filmed live in New York City on June 10, Robach discussed how their attraction to one another grew while they were still employed as hosts forGMA3: What You Need to Know.

The two were secretly separated from their spouses at the time, with Robach, 51, being married toAndrew Shue while Holmes, 46, was married to Marilee Fiebig. Eventually, there came a point when Holmes admitted to Robach that he was in love with her — a moment that took place before the two had even “held hands.”

“I don't [think] I ever, like, touched your hand,” she told Holmes during the episode, adding, “We never held hands. There was nothing physical. And I never in my life could have imagined feeling that kind of love for someone where it never started out as lust. ... It was just this deep foundation of friendship, love, respect.”

“We had been in the trenches together on television, in a very high-stress situation in the network newsroom, and we had been there for each other in our darkest moments,” she continued. “We started leaning on each other in so many emotional ways. And it was just there was such a depth to what we had. It was so different than anything I've ever experienced.”

During the episode, Robach also explained how her cancer journey, which began when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2013, played a “huge role” in her decision to pursue her feelings for Holmes.

“I asked myself, if your cancer came back, and you knew you had one year to live, how would you spend it? And it wasn't even close. I would spend it with T.J.,” she explained. “I have preached, and I've given speeches to breast cancer survivors … and anyone who's gone through anything life-threatening or had anything where you thought you might die, whatever it is.You learn that tomorrow is not guaranteed,”

During aDecember 2023 episodeofAmy & T.J.,Holmesrecalled that “something else was evolving” between him and Robach during the summer of 2022.

“We kind of tiptoed around it, and I didn't want to say anything,” he told Robach in the episode. “You didn't want to say anything, but then as we proceeded through last summer, things definitely changed and we started having conversations.”

Robach explained that they were “spending so much time together at work" and eventually, there came a point when they didn't want their time together "to end.” She also revealed that she and Holmes would look forward to their working weeks together rather than their weekends off.

“I remember us both saying, ‘Oh, Fridays are a bummer.' Normally people are excited about Fridays, right?" she recalled. "Didn't want it to be Friday, and I was excited about Monday [and returning to work]."

Robach and Holmes’ relationship became public in November 2022, sparking a media frenzy. Holmes and Fiebigsettled their divorceseveral weeks later, while Robach later finalized her divorce from Shuein March, according toPage Six. Although Holmes and Robach didn't violate company policy, ABC News said at the time their romantic relationship had become an “internal and external disruption.” The two were let go fromGMA3in January 2023.

While Holmes said in the June 10 podcast episode the pair were “angry as hell” at ABC News for “quite some time” after their exit, they’ve very much moved on,becoming more publicabout their relationship.

Robach and Holmes are in a good place, based on Amy & T.J. episodes that have aired in recent months. In one February episode, she admitted that she hoped to elope in Fijifor her third wedding. The pair also discussed engagement rings in anApril episode. Although they weren't sure about eventually getting married, Robach made it clear that at the very least, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Holmes.

Despite the controversy around their relationship and the professional setbacks they’ve faced, Robach and Holmes told the audience at the June 10 event that the couple's rocky journey has ultimately been worthwhile.

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“The journey that's brought us here in front of you, we can be grateful for,” Holmes said. “When that rare thing happens in — maybe it's love — but when it's right there in front of you, life is too short, you have to go for it.”