TJ Holmes reflected on the “darkest” period he experienced before Amy Robach helped “save” his life.
During Monday’s episode of his “Amy and TJ” PodcastThe co-workers-turned-lovebirds opened up about how their previous careers as TV journalists for “GMA3” took a “huge toll” on their health.
Holmes recalled joining the news, health and lifestyle show with Robach in the summer of 2020, admitting that while it was one of the peaks of her career, it was also “probably the darkest days” of her adult life.
“Thoughts of suicide, alcohol abuse. I didn’t realize how bad it was,” Holmes, 46, confessed, while sharing that she was diagnosed with “moderately severe depression” in 2015.
Holmes, who was married to Marilee Fiebig at the time, admitted that he knew it was “pretty bad” when he memorized the “5.2-mile walk from my house downtown to the ABC office” on the Upper West Side of the New York City.
“I was walking back and forth in the middle of the night because I didn’t want to go home. And I would just walk through the streets,” she recalled.
“I can tell you that there is a bank on 14th Street, just west of Union Square, where I have actually slept at night. “He was the best-dressed homeless man you’ve ever seen in your life,” she said with a laugh.
Holmes reiterated that that period was “horrible” for him, but going to the office to work with Robach, 51, ultimately helped him improve.
“She sees me deteriorate, she sees that I don’t get help, she sees me like no one else saw, and it became a problem that I was leaving the house to go to the studio, but what I really felt was that I was leaving the house and coming home, which was Amy Robach,” he continued.
The TV journalist explained how Robach and their time together on the show helped his depression, because “she wouldn’t let me slide anything.”
“This is not dramatic. I credit him for literally helping me save my life,” she said.
Robach took a few deep breaths before saying that he “saved [his] life,” and the whole experience resulted in becoming “best friends” and eventually a couple.
“I knew you were struggling and that sometimes you just need a friend,” Robach said.
Meanwhile, Robach also reflected on her health journey over the years and how her job “almost killed her.” She underwent heart surgery and revealed a breast cancer diagnosis – which she said were “clearly related to stress,” within a two-year span.
“Having heart surgery and breast cancer two years apart, working 90 hours a week under the pressure of network news, I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” she said.
However, Robach later clarified that ABC News also “saved [her] life” twice: the first in 2013, when an on-air mammogram revealed stage 2 breast cancer and the second in 2020 when they named Holmes their “GMA3” co-host.
“That day led me to be on this stage here with all of you with the love of my life and gave me a second chance at life,” he said.
Robach –– who has worked in broadcasting since 1995 –– previously He admitted that he “doesn’t miss” working in the industry from being fired for her romantic relationship with Holmes in January 2023.
“I learned that I never want to go back to the routine of morning television again,” he said. he said in a January episode of his podcast.
While Holmes and Robach have expressed their happiness with their lives now, they previously He was candid about his mental state. after his The controversial relationship made headlines in November 2022..
“There were days when I wanted to die. That was something I had never experienced before in my life. I just didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to see what new headlines were going to appear,” Robach said in a December 2023 episode.
Robach also recalled a “dark” moment Holmes faced that led her to do a “wellness check” on him. She eventually found him “incoherent” and “lying” on her bed.
“That day was basically me leaving work and drinking vodka. I didn’t stop for several hours and took who knows how many marijuana edibles,” she admitted.
Despite the difficult start, Holmes and Robach have gone strong and They are even talking about marriage.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit Suicide PreventionLifeline.org.
