Amy Robach Calls Pressures of T.J. Holmes Romance ‘Really Hard’: ‘You Feel Like You’re Being Watched’

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes can relate to celebrity couples struggling in the spotlight.

The former GM3 co-anchors, who left ABC News and their morning show after their private romance went public in late 2022, discussed recent celebrity breakups and the idea of long-distance relationships on the I Do, Part 2 podcast on Thursday, Jan. 16.

"The pressure, the public pressure of a public romance is real, and it's tough,” Robach, 51, shared.

“You feeling it?” Holmes, 47, asked her.

“Well, no. Oh, it's getting so much better,” Robach admitted. “I felt it for … the first year was really hard.”

Related: Amy Robach Says T.J. Holmes Asked Her to 'Never Propose' — But He Thinks They'll Be Married 'Sooner Rather Than Later'

The mother of two added, “I don't feel it as much now as I did a year ago, for sure. And it does add to stress levels because you feel like you're being watched. You feel like you're being talked about. There's pressure associated with that, without a doubt. But in that sense, I feel like maybe even more so than not, you root for public couples because you want them to make it because it's hard. It's hard already, and adding fame and all of that pressure to it is just tough.”

While discussing recent splits, Robach also noted that she feels celebrities have a right to privacy.

“Even if you are a public figure and you are a celebrity and you make your living doing so, it doesn't mean you don't have a right to a private life,” she said. “A lot of folks wanna get their divorce finalized. They wanna have all their ducks in a row before they then announce it.”

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Robach finalized her divorce from ex-husband Andrew Shue in March 2023 following the publicized news of her relationship with Holmes. Meanwhile, Holmes finalized his divorce from ex-wife Marilee Fiebig in October 2023. The pair maintain that they had ended their previous relationships before they struck up their own romance in late 2022. PEOPLE then confirmed in December 2023 that Shue and Fiebig were dating, with the duo most recently stepping out together last month when they attended the 2024 Grassroot Soccer World AIDS Day Gala on Dec. 3 in New York City.

“I know that's where our heads were in our situations,” Robach said of wanting to settle their divorces before announcing anything, “and when someone forces your hand, it's a trauma on top of a trauma that's unnecessary.”

Related: Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Detail Secretly Overcoming 'Ugliness' 1 Year Ago When Others Tried to 'Attack' Them

Holmes quipped, “My next divorce, I'm gonna announce it immediately. I am going to be the first, I mean, the most it's gonna be out there so quick, so quick. Lesson learned.”

“Deafening silence. Deafening silence from me,” Robach, who has discussed marriage to Holmes, joked. “Yes. I know you were kidding.”

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The New York City-based couple, who moved in together last year, also discussed the idea of long-distance relationships, with Robach noting that her own parents credited the success of their 52-year marriage to spending half their time apart.

“Then we're doomed because we spend every waking moment together,” Holmes joked, with Robach adding, “We have a no distance relationship.”

“I mean, even when your showers go a little long, I'm like, ‘Where is she?’ ” Holmes quipped.

And Robach attributes their desire to spend so much time together to the early stages of their friendship that turned romantic.

“I think we spent so much time as friends missing each other that now we're just so excited to be together that we actually get to be together, and we choose to be together,” Robach explained. “But that has come after a lot of time and a lot of, I think, longing. So that does create a different relationship or dynamic to begin with going into it.”

Holmes and Robach have previously made it clear that they intend to stay together for the long haul.

“We are not trying to see if we want to be together. We’re not trying to do a trial run to see if this thing can work,” Holmes shared in December on their Amy & T.J. podcast. “That’s not where we are. So the decision has been made to spend a life together.”

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