Originally appeared on E! Online
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes want to set the record straight.
The former "GMA3" cohosts, whose romance became the center of controversy when they were photographed during a getaway in November 2022, are detailing their relationship for the first time, sharing that it's been a "year of hell."
"To be clear, we were outed as being in a relationship," Holmes said during the Dec. 5 premiere of their self-titled podcast, "but everyone else thought we were being outed as adulterous, being outed as cheating on our spouses and it wasn't the case. Because the odd thing is that the day those pictures were taken and the day that article was released, we had both, at that point, been in divorce proceedings."
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The couple, who recently made their red carpet debut, first sparked romance rumors last fall after they were photographed together on a trip in Upstate New York. At the time, they were legally married to other people: Robach to "Melrose Place" alum Andrew Shue (they finalized their divorce in March) and Holmes to attorney Marilee Fiebig (who settled their divorce in October).
"It was one of those things where everyone in my tight circle knew I was getting divorced," Robach said of her split at the time the photos were taken. "I took my ring off early August. It was very clear to anyone who knew me that I was in the middle of a divorce. T.J. is a much more private person than me and just chose to keep that to himself."
"But it was hard," she said, "because anyone who was a viewer or anyone outside of a very small circle didn't know that either one of us were getting divorced, so that was one of the challenges we had in the beginning. We were trying to clear everything up."
Holmes went on to note that he didn't think to share news of his relationship with Robach right away, as he was still navigating the aspects of his split within his family.
"My daughter, I mean she's 10," the TV anchor said of his daughter Sabine. "I was still trying to get her adjusted to her new reality of her parents not being together."
Holmes, who, along with Robach, was replaced at the morning show after their relationship came to light, added that he didn't tell his family, including his mom about the split from his ex.
"So why the hell am I thinking about telling an executive and the network about it?" he said. "So that's where our heads were. In hindsight, sure, maybe we screwed up."
The former ABC cohosts also recalled the controversy taking its toll on them as individuals and the possible effect in had on their careers, with Robach detailing an instance when she rushed over to his apartment after receiving a concerning text from Holmes and that, she herself, at times she "didn't want to get up."
"To feel like, you know, who is still behind me? Who supports me? Will I work again? Will I ever be trusted again?" she said. "Will people believe what really happened versus what people have written happened? And those were all things that we had to go through and deal with and I will say that I felt extremely lucky that we had each other."
