Robert Frost was right: Nothing gold can stay, including Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes on the third hour of Good Morning America. The co-hosts-turned-lovers who captured America’s midday imaginations are being booted from the air, following the whirlwind reveal of their relationship last week. ABC News president Kim Godwin announced today during a company call that while the affair didn’t violate company policy, it didn’t look good for the brand. Counterpoint: I did not even know GMA3 had a third hour until this whole debacle.
According to Page Six, Godwin called the affair an “internal and external distraction.” I can personally confirm that following every single detail of this scandal was the external distraction I desperately needed last week. Supposedly GMA capo Robin Roberts had also disapproved of Holmes and Robach’s relationship for a while and had scolded the two like puppies chewing on a shoe. “Stop it!” she reportedly pulled them aside and told them. For the time being, Stephanie Ramos and Gio Benitez will host GMA3. Yawn.
What feels a lot more damning than Robach and Holmes’ romance is that over the weekend, the revelation broke that Holmes had previously had another years-long affair with a married producer on the show. This bit of information certainly reconfigures my perception of Holmes and Robach’s connection as star-crossed lovers. Instead, it seems like Holmes may just have poor boundaries in the workplace. I wouldn’t be surprised if that pattern is what’s getting him pulled from air, because word on the street last week was that ABC was calling his relationship with Robach alone “ratings gold.” And they weren’t wrong. GMA3 saw a 20 percent jump in ratings from two weeks before the scandal broke to the day after it did.
So, did I speak too soon about how we all championed the co-hosts’ romance? Alas, I did. You have my permission to stick your nose up at me in the comments. The internet did indeed stan their obvious chemistry. And what is love if not a glimmering hallucination we all chase? Is it a crime to hold out hope that two people can find love in the most unlikely of places (training for a marathon), even if they’re married to other people?!
Anyway, don’t expect to see this duo on your screens for a bit. And if you’re going to risk it all for a coworker, make sure you haven’t risked it all for a different coworker like two years prior.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are the hosts of ‘Good Morning America.’ They are technically the hosts of the third hour of ‘Good Morning America,’ known as ‘GMA3.’