Amy Robach Cries on Podcast With T.J. Holmes Over ABC Layoffs

Amy Robach became emotional on a podcast when speaking about the recent layoffs at ABC.

Approximately 200 employees, or roughly 6 percent of staff, were let go across ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks. Shrinking ratings and revenue were to blame, with many people ditching cable TV packages for streaming services, The Wall Street Journal reported.

During Monday’s episode of Amy & T.J., which Robach co-hosts with her partner T.J. Holmes, she said “a large majority” of the layoffs came from GMA3: What You Need to Know—the ABC program she previously co-hosted with Holmes.

“What was your first reaction to the news to hear that that whole staff—that everybody’s gone?” Holmes asked Robach. “What did you think?”

“I’m gonna try not to get emotional. I felt so sad,” she said, while appearing to cry. “I started thinking about starting the show and the early wins and the excitement that we were on to something, that we were building something and growing something that we all cared so deeply about.”

She continued: “I went flashback to that moment when we went out to California for the Emmys—we were not only nominated for the show but for actually [hosting], so we had two Emmy nominations our first year out. We were so proud and the future seemed so bright, so I think I just thought about all the ‘what ifs.'”

GMA3 was nominated for Outstanding Informative Talk Show at the 2021 and 2022 Emmys. Robach, Holmes and physician Jennifer Ashton were also nominated for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host in 2021.

“I felt so sad for all of those people who have worked so hard on that show, and I just felt so frustrated that things happened the way they happened,” Robach concluded.

Newsweek reached out to Robach’s representative via email for further comment.

In March 2020, Robach anchored Pandemic: What You Need to Know alongside Ashton, and it was later renamed GMA3: What You Need to Know. Robach and Holmes became co-anchors in September that year when he signed on to the program.

At the time, GMA3 executive producer Catherine McKenzie said in a statement: “Amy has expertly guided our viewers through the events of the past few months with skillful reporting and big interviews. I’m thrilled that T.J. will join her at the helm with his gift for storytelling. We will continue to count on Dr. Jen and her medical expertise to help us navigate the pandemic and what comes next. We think the combination of Amy, T.J. and Jen is an unmatched team in daytime television at a time when viewers are hungry for straightforward news and information.”

Robach and Holmes were axed by ABC in January 2023 after images of the pair were published online. At the time, Robach was married to Melrose Place star Andrew Shue, and Holmes was married to attorney Marilee Fiebig. However, they denied an affair ever took place and maintained they were each in the process of divorcing their partners when their romance began. Robach and Holmes’ divorces were finalized in 2023, and Shue and Fiebig have since started dating each other.