After spending some time out of the spotlight following the reveal of their secret relationship and their subsequent departure from Good Morning America, T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach have been opening up about their lives on their own terms. The couple launched the podcast T.J. and Amy in December, and in addition to discussing their relationship and the scandal it led to, they also share other aspects of their personal lives. On a new episode, the former news anchors revealed how their drinking habits changed after they lost their jobs and that they're both participating in Dry January after "reexamining" their alcohol intake.
RELATED: The Real Reason Kelly Ripa Stopped Drinking Alcohol.
As reported by People, Robach said on the podcast that she was having around 30 drinks per week last year while Holmes said that he "could easily go through 18 drinks a day," though this wasn't the case everyday.
Robach said of her number, "That is appalling to me. That is embarrassing to me. That is not what I wish it were." She explained that no longer working at GMA and dealing with the fallout of the scandal meant that her alcohol intake rose.
"Last year was my pandemic. I didn't have a job to go to. I was staying away from a lot of friends and family. We were laying low," Robach said. "So, what did I do? I drank a lot, a lot more than I ever have. I don't think I've ever gone a full year where I drank every single day, and that was 2023 for me. It wasn't that I was getting wasted or drunk or any of that; it was just keeping a buzz going all day or at least keeping a relaxed state of mind in a heightened, anxious year."
Bryan Bedder/New York Road Runners via Getty Images
They also explained how drinking fit into their schedules during this period. Both Holmes and Robach are avid runners and they said that they would have "runs to fun" where they would either run to a bar or go for a morning run, return home, and "have a beer," as Holmes explained it (via Page Six). He said that on some days, he would have two drinks at lunchtime and then "easily have a drink in [his] hand from two in the afternoon until seven, eight, nine, 10 at night.”
On the podcast, Robach expressed doubt that Holmes really drank 18 alcoholic drinks per day. But, he explained, "Official guidelines say one drink is one beer or a five ounce glass of wine or one and a half ounces of liquor." He clarified that he didn't mean that he was “pouring 18 drinks," but rather taking into account that each of his drinks might contain more alcohol than the guidelines allot.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "To reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed."
Robach and Holmes also looked back on how much money they collectively spent on drinking in one month.
"We spent in the month of December $2,869 on alcohol alone, period," Holmes said. "I thought the number would be higher, to be honest with you. But that is an amount of money now that is going to be saved in January." Robach noted that some of the money she spent on alcohol also went toward drinks for others, including family members.
The couple said that they are now both participating in Dry January, which means they are abstaining from drinking alcohol for the first month of the year. (Though, they did admit that they didn't start until Jan. 2.) “It feels absolutely great," Holmes said. He noted that just one positive outcome is that he has been sleeping better.
He also explained that he has been eating a lot of candy, since abstaining from alcohol has left him craving sugar, while Robach said that she's been drinking sparkling water. Holmes explained on the podcast that he doesn't plan to start drinking as soon as Feb. 1 comes around but will wait until the Super Bowl, which is on Feb. 11. At this, Robach pointed out that they will probably have drinks on her birthday, which is Feb. 6.
"I am certainly somebody who right now and in years past needs to reexamine my relationship with alcohol, and that's what we are doing," Holmes explained. Robach added that she would not have done the challenge without her partner. "I don’t know that I would have felt comfortable or—honestly this may sound crazy—but I don’t know if I would have felt brave enough or courageous enough to say, ‘I am 100 percent going cold turkey this month,’ if you hadn’t said, ‘I’m doing it and we can do it together.'”
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