Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Break Their Silence: ‘We Lost the Jobs We Love Because We Love Each Other’

The former 'GMA3' anchors opened up about their "beautiful relationship" on the debut episode of their 'Amy and T.J.' podcast Tuesday

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes opened up for the first time about their relationship on Tuesday, and the fallout that came when their romance was made public.

In the first episode of Amy and T.J. Podcast, their new iHeartRadio podcast, the former GMA3: What You Need to Know co-anchors got candid about their exit from the ABC series, Holmes describing them as "the folks who lost the jobs we love because we love each other."

"That is the bottom line and that is why we are here now," said Holmes, 46. Robach, 50, called the podcast debut "the first time we get to say what happened and where we are today.”

She went on to share that the duo have "gone through a year of hell" as she gave an insight into their romance.

"In the end, all of us are always rooting for love," she said. "It doesn’t always happen when you want it to happen. And it's undeniable when it’s real and it’s something you have to navigate and it’s not easy."

Related: T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach Attend Jingle Ball 2023, Marking Their First Red Carpet Appearance as a Couple

Said Robach: "Relationships are hard, they’re messy, they’re not perfect. We have fought for love, and I can say I have never been happier. I am with my best friend."

Adding that he's the “happiest and healthiest that I've been in my life," Holmes continued, "Bottom line we have not said this. I’m in love with this woman and she’s in love with me and we are planning a life together.”

"A lot of you understand that life, love, marriage, relationships can be messy and usually are," said Holmes.

Related: Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes' Relationship Saga: Everything to Know

Robach and Holmes first announced the podcast venture on Nov. 1 while making their relationship Instagram-official. Coincidentally, its Dec. 5 launch day comes exactly one year after ABC News President Kim Godwin made the call to put them on hiatus as news of their workplace romance surfaced.

A source at the time told PEOPLE that "GMA decided to have a period of cooling down, because they thought this was unwanted attention." PEOPLE later confirmed in January that the pair were officially departing the series, a spokesperson for ABC indicated that the decision was reached "after several productive conversations with Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes about different options."

Discussing launching the podcast on Dec. 5, Robach noted, "Today is a special day. It’s almost apropos that we would have this podcast air on December 5th because December 5th last year, exactly one year ago today, was the day we were told not to come into work."

"We never got a follow-up call to say come back," laughed Holmes, while Robach added, "That’s true. It was the opposite.”

News of Robach and Holmes' romance was made public in November 2022 as photos of them cozying up together surfaced. At the time, Robach had not confirmed her separation from her actor husband Andrew Shue, nor Holmes with his attorney wife Marilee Fiebig.

"There were rumors they were having an affair about a year ago," a source previously shared with PEOPLE last year. "A lot of people believed there might have been some truth to it, because you can see there's a mutual affection there. But everyone ultimately chalked it up to friendship because they always said they were both happily married."

But denying they ever had an affair on their podcast, Holmes explained, “To be clear, we were outed as being in a relationship, but everyone else thought we were being outed as adulterers — being outed as cheating on our spouses — and it wasn’t the case because the odd thing is, the day those pictures were taken and the day that article was released, we both at that point were in divorce proceedings."

"We had attorneys, mediators, we were in the middle of divorces," insisted Robach, noting that when the first snap of the pair was taken, her estranged husband had moved out of the house they shared together "three months earlier."

Meanwhile, Holmes revealed that he has been living by himself in his New York City apartment “since last summer."

The duo went on to share that they were planning to reveal their relationship after their respective divorces were finalized. They had drafted a press release that they never sent out, they said.

"I have it in my phone still," said Holmes. "You made a statement about where you were in your marriage, and I made a statement about my divorce proceeding and those statements were never released."

"You don't know what to do," said Robach.

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Holmes also quipped that the pair toyed with the idea of calling the podcast, Scandal-less "because this was the scandal that wasn't."

Since their romance became public, Robach and Holmes have become more comfortable showcasing their relationship within the public eye, with many of their romantic outings occurring both at home and abroad. Over the weekend, Robach and Holmes made their red carpet debut as a couple at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball 2023.

iHeartRadio's Amy and T.J. is available wherever podcasts are streamed.

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