On the latest episode of their podcast, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes get candid about battling shame.
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are sharing even more insights into their relationship -- and getting candid about struggling with shame and facing embarrassment following their divorces amid their burgeoning romance.
In the latest episode of their podcast, Amy & T.J., the couple reflected on how their relationship blossomed as they were each dealing with their second marriages crumbling -- and the lengths they went to in order to keep their divorces secret.
The pair had an audience for the first time for their podcast, which they hosted live at Soho House in Lower Manhattan, and the duo explained how the drama that followed the revelation of their relationship was largely due to how they'd tried so hard to pretend that their marriages were going well.
"We weren't exposed for being together, we were exposed, initially, for not actually living the lives we were portraying to the world," Robach, 51, shared. "Because we weren't living those lives we were showing everyone, we weren't able to actually expose our relationship."
Robach and Holmes' secret romance became public in November 2022 amid their splits from their respective spouses -- Robach's second husband, Andrew Shue, and Holmes' second wife, Marilee Fiebig.
The controversial romance cost the former GMA anchors their jobs, but at the end of 2023, the couple began to put their relationship on display on red carpets and decided they would share things from their perspective on their podcast.
Robach is the mother of two adult daughters -- Ava and Annie -- from her first marriage to Tim McIntosh. Holmes, meanwhile, shares an 11-year-old daughter, Sabine, with Fiebig, as well as daughter Brianna and son Jaiden from his first marriage to Amy Ferson.
"Between the two of us sitting on this stage, there are now four divorces," Holmes shared during the podcast. "We had very perfect-looking families and perfect-looking lives, and we were guilty at times of putting out an image of our lives that we knew were not true."
For Robach, she recalled one moment in particular, back in 2022, when she knowingly posted a photo to Instagram that depicted a happy moment with herself and Shue -- but only because a friend had texted her asking if their marriage was OK, as she hadn't posted family photos recently.
"I didn't want anyone to think anything was wrong, so I posted that picture," Robach explained. The problem is, everything was wrong. When I posted that picture, I was almost sure my marriage was over. But I didn't want anyone to know."
"I wanted my life to actually be what it looked like on Instagram so badly," Robach said.
For Holmes, the effort he put in to hiding the fact that his marriage was ending was even more strenuous. Holmes said he made sure to don his wedding ring specifically for when he was on air, but would remove it in his dressing room after the broadcast.
"I didn't want anyone to know that I had another failed marriage," Holmes explained. "I wasn't ready for anyone to know that."
He even refused to update his address with the show, so that when the network sent a car to pick him up in the early morning to take him to the studio, the car wouldn't go to his current address but to his marital home.
"For months, I didn't update my address. I would walk out of my new home at 3:45 am, and I would walk downtown for 15-plus minutes to the place I had moved out of," Holmes recalled. "I would sneak behind cars or behind buildings... trying to make sure [the driver] didn't know something was up."
One element that made their divorces particularly difficult was the fact that they both have children -- who would be immediately impacted by both the new living situation and the public fallout surrounding their celebrity parents.
"Anyone who's been through a failed relationship, and especially a failed marriage, knows that when children are involved it is a completely different ballgame," Robach explained. "Part of it is ego, wanting to keep it private, but so much of it is also protecting your children and not wanting them to be exposed to the publicity that ensues."
"Ironically, it all blew up in our face because we weren't transparent in what was actually happening in our relationships before this relationship started," she added. "So everything got completely blown out of proportion."
In the aftermath of their high-profile divorces, their respective ex-spouses, Shue and Fiebig, have found solace in each other's company and are dating one another.
A source told ET in February, "Andrew and Marilee are taking things slow in their new romance, and trying to lay low in the midst of their very public breakups. The two find solace in one another, and have enjoyed getting to know each other away from the noise."
"Initially they had no interest in each other but bonded over the trauma from their respective breakups," the source added.
Another source told ET, "Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig's relationship has surprised some close to those involved. But the relationship is not surprising because of the two's close bond as of recent, both leaning on each other in times of need, as well as their shared ideals. The two continue to stay under the radar and enjoy each other's company."
Robach and Shue finalized their divorce in March 2023, while Holmes settled his divorce from Fiebig in October 2023.
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