Give Us Back Our Messy ‘Good Morning America’ Drama, Damn It
Last week, we learned that GMA3: What You Need to Know anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes — long praised for their on-air chemistry — had grown somewhat closer outside of work. The extramarital affair wasn’t confirmed in screenshots of steamy texts or DMs, but a trove of photos apparently taken by a private investigator, which gave the whole story a retro 2000s tabloid flavor that the internet found irresistible.
Adding another layer of intrigue to the narrative, the TV hosts, who are now separating from their respective spouses, were allowed to finish out the week. On Friday, they all but openly alluded to the headlines, with Holmes appearing to enjoy (and dare we say bask in) the attention. And why not? Most people seemed enamored with the forbidden relationship.
But alas, when Monday rolled around, ABC News announced that they were benching Robach and Holmes, no doubt giving the pair ample time for another cozy cottage getaway in upstate New York. The division’s president, Kim Godwin, told staffers of the decision in a call, noting that while the anchors hadn’t violated company policy (some had speculated that they’d violated a “morality clause” in their contracts), they had nonetheless caused “an internal and external disruption.” She also said that leadership “wanted to do what’s best for the organization.”
What’s best? What’s best would be doing your job and giving the people what they want: softball daytime infotainment presented by two hot people we know are fucking as they go through separate divorces. I thought TV executives were supposed to love surprise twists and high ratings. You had a 20 percent jump in viewership!
If you want to just keep catering to the retirees who have your channel on all day anyway, sure, get rid of T.J. and Amy. But if you want to conquer a new, younger audience — including plenty who had never even heard of these two until now — get your messy stars back in front of the cameras and making not-so-subtle jokes about their relationship, pronto.
It’s really not fair to deny the country a front-row seat as this whole saga plays out. Holmes and Robach have already deleted their Instagram accounts, their Twitter feeds are inactive, and no further updates are forthcoming. We need the reassurance of their faces on our screens and more snippets of flirty banter to dissect.
Come on, it’s the end of the year, and we’re all just half-assing it till the holidays, anyways. Our collective brainpower has been exhausted by the chaos of 2022, and the only thing we can handle at this point is a juicy cheating scandal. So far, the duo at the center of this business have been good sports about it — dare I say professional? — and deserve their moment in the spotlight. Don’t be a Grinch, ABC News.
In the meantime, Twitter will have to content itself with the revelation that Holmes’ real first name is Loutelious. But that knowledge won’t satisfy for long. Whatever reputation the Good Morning America franchise is trying to protect, they needn’t bother because no backup hosts can hope to compete with backstage drama.