Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes have reunited to co-anchor Good Morning America’s third hour for the first time since DailyMail.com exposed their secret love affair.
Robach, 49, made an awkward return to GMA3 on Thursday taking her usual seat – between her co-star lover and correspondent Jennifer Ashton – and jumping straight into the broadcast, with no mention of her mysterious absence the previous day.
The hosts appeared determined to show it was business as usual at the GMA studio amid the scandal plaguing the married co-hosts.
In what appeared to be a contrived united front for the cameras, the journalists opened the program with awkward, friendly small talk before quickly moving on to news topics, failing to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
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Amy Robach, 49, made an awkward return to GMA3 on Thursday taking her usual seat – between her co-star lover T.J. Holmes and correspondent Jennifer Ashton – and presenting the lunchtime program without mentioning her absence yesterday
Robach and Holmes reunited to co-anchor GMA’s third hour for the first time since their secret love affair was revealed but failed to address their romance on air
Flying solo: On Wednesday, the normally charismatic Holmes, 45, was visibly on edge as he kicked off GMA’s lunchtime segment, GMA3: What You Need to Know, without Robach or Ashton
‘Who’s looking forward to the weekend?’ Holmes said nervously. ‘Ahhh, me!’ Robach said, prompting Holmes to reply: ‘Of course we are.’
The hosts carried on like normal for the remainder of the program, with Robach and Holmes even presenting one holiday baking segment together without Ashton.
The outed lovers made no effort to keep a distance during the bit, standing closely together and giggling with each other as they baked cookies with guest chef Caroline Schiff.
They then wrapped up the show without acknowledging the romance on air.
Thursday’s show also marked the first time that Holmes, 45, who has been married to attorney wife Marilee Fiebig since 2010, was seen without his wedding ring on air.
DailyMail.com earlier revealed that Robach, who is married to actor Andrew Shue, has also not been wearing her ring in recent weeks.
The scandal has reportedly rocked the network and disrupted production, as sources tell DailyMail.com Holmes was expected to fill-in for host Michael Strahan for GMA’s morning show Thursday but ABC later decided against it.
ABC is yet to address DailyMail.com’s bombshell report Wednesday, which revealed Holmes and Robach have been secretly dating for months despite both still being legally married to their respective spouses for the past 12 years.
Despite reports that Amy and Andrew have divorced, DailyMail.com has learned the couple has consulted with a mediator.
THURSDAY: Holmes was seen without his wedding ring for the first time on the show a day after his affair was revealed
WEDNESDAY: Holmes was still wearing his ring on air just yesterday, when he presented the show on his own hours after news of the romance broke
The outed lovers presented the entire program without acknowledging their relationship or addressing the scandal
Robach’s return comes after Holmes was left to anchor the show alone Wednesday, when he was seen presenting a very awkward broadcast hours after news of their romance broke.
It is not known whether this was always the plan or whether the network – now scrambling to come up with a damage control strategy – hastily reshot the show.
The normally charismatic Holmes, 45, was visibly on edge as he kicked GMA3: What You Need to Know on Wednesday afternoon without Robach or Ashton by his side.
He fidgeted in his seat with his eyes shifting left and right before swiftly and awkwardly addressing his co-stars’ absence on air, claiming the two were ‘on assignment.’
‘All right, folks, Welcome to GMA3 minus two. Ain’t that something? Yes. Robach is not here. Dr. Ashton, not here. Stuck with me, folks,’ he said nervously.
‘Ah, just take it in. Eat it up, right? But yes, those two are on assignment. They are working today, don’t worry.’
Holmes powered through the remainder of the 60-minute show – parts of which are pre-taped – without mentioning the scandal.
During one segment, the show also aired T.J. and Amy’s pre-recorded interview with Pam Grier.
A series exclusive DailyMail.com photos published on Wednesday revealed their intimate relationship, with the pair seen going on dates around the city and traveling to and from each other’s homes throughout the month of November
‘All right, folks, Welcome to GMA3 minus two. Ain’t that something? Yes. Robach is not here. Dr. Ashton, not here. Stuck with me, folks,’ he said nervously
GMA3 co-anchor Amy Robach, who has been hosting the daytime program alongside Holmes since 2020, did not appear on Wednesday’s show which aired just hours after their relationship was exposed
Both Holmes and Robach have been married to their respective spouses since 2010. It is not known when or how Holmes’s wife, 44-year-old attorney, Marilee Fiebig, (pictured together left in 2012) and Robach’s husband, former Melrose Place actor Andrew Shue, 55, (pictured right in March 2022) learned of the romance, but both couples are said to have split up in August this year
Holmes then closed the program with another awkward sign-off, reassuring viewers once again that his co-hosts will indeed return.
Turning to the camera, he chuckled nervously as he said: ‘You can leave us now with comfort in knowing, guys, that Robach and Dr. Ashton will be back real, real soon, okay? Won’t be stuck with me, just me, much longer.’
Both journalists shut down their social media accounts shortly after the bombshell story was published, but neither have commented on their entanglement.
It seemed Robach had already been aware of public speculation concerning her marriage prior to deactivating her Instagram on Wednesday.
The TV star had restricted comments on her posts after eagle-eyed users pointed out her missing wedding ring in photos as well as her absent husband, who was last featured on her profile in August.
Up until now, Robach and Holmes’s friendship on and off screen was understood to be close but platonic ever since the two began anchoring GMA3 in 2020 and hit it off.
Shortly after DailyMail.com broke the news of the secret romance, Holmes shut down his Twitter and Instagram accounts
Robach’s Instagram account was also deactivated in the wake of the scandal
Prior to deactivating her Instagram account, Robach had recently limited comments on her posts after users began pointing out her missing wedding ring and asking about her husband. Above, Robach’s wedding finger is visibly bare in a November 5 photo (right) and in her latest photo on Thanksgiving (left)
Inside sources told DailyMail.com: ‘Everyone knows that Amy and T.J. have been close friends for a long time now, running together and even socializing as a foursome with each other’s spouses.’
But according to insiders, T.J. and Amy’s friendship evolved in June this year, if not before, ‘when they were in London together filming the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee for ABC and staff were buzzing about the intimacy between them.’
Holmes and Robach’s chemistry has always been evident on air, but the two have also expressed support for each other as colleagues on social media.
Some recent posts, however, appear to have some flirtatious undertones hinting at their secret romance, such as one photo from July showing Robach and Holmes both wearing pink that she captioned: ‘T.J. just loves it when we match [twin emoji].’
Earlier this year in March, Holmes also shared an Instagram photo posing alongside Robach and President of ABC News Kim Godwin with a cheeky caption reading: ‘Yep, head of ABC News had to fly all the way to LA to make sure we were behaving.’
Godwin has denied she was aware of the relationship.
Robach and Holmes made no secret of their blossoming friendship since they first hit it off as co-hosts of the popular morning show’s third hour in 2020
TJ Holmes and Amy Robach celebrate as they cross the finish line during the NYC Half Marathon on March 20, 2022. The married co-hosts have been sharing much more than a mutual love of running and the great-outdoors
Since they began anchoring GMA 3 in 2020, the two hosts have always been known to have a close friendship off-screen, with both often sharing photos together from ABC’s studio on Instagram
It is not known when or how Holmes’s wife 44-year-old attorney, Marilee Fiebig, and Robach’s husband, former Melrose Place actor Shue, 55, learned of the romance, but both couples went their separate ways in August this year, according to sources.
While the secret may be out as far as their spouses are concerned, Robach and Holmes were still at pains to keep their relationship hush hush.
A series of pictures obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, tells the tale of their steamy relationship as the couple enjoy flirty post-filming sessions at a New York City bar, alone time in each other’s apartments, and – two weeks before Thanksgiving – a weekend away in a secluded cottage in Upstate New York.
Thursday afternoon on November 10 – just a day before their romantic weekend away – the two were found deep in conversation in a cozy corner of O’Donoghue’s Irish bar in Times Square.
Earlier they had finished pre-recording their daily segment, quickly separating as they exited ABC studios and walking alone to the dimly lit watering hole where they reconnected in a corner far from the bar.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show Holmes and Robach spending a weekend shacked up in a cozy cottage in the Shawangunk Mountain region. Holmes was seen giving his lover a playful squeeze from behind as she packed up the car before checking out of their rental on Sunday November 13
Earlier this week, the couple were caught in a rare PDA moment as they held hands in the back of an Uber while heading to Robach’s apartment
An eyewitness told DailyMail.com: ‘They were totally into each other. She was giggling at whatever he was saying, and they were looking at each other’s phones. At one point she was kind of dancing in her chair to the music and laughing so hard she practically fell into his lap.’
The couple were briefly joined by a male friend who left after a quick lunch allowing them to return to their drinks a deux.
On leaving, the lovers were once again determined not to appear to be together, with Robach standing about 20 feet away from Holmes on the sidewalk as he called for an Uber.
She giggled when the Uber arrived and joined Holmes on the quick ride to his downtown apartment, from which Robach was not seen leaving.