T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach are opening up about their dependency on alcohol in 2023, after their affair scandal was made public and shocked the world.
The couple spoke about how they maintained a buzz daily throughout the year, which they called their version of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Holmes and Robach also calculated their monthly alcohol expenses, which ran into thousands of dollars. The couple said they’re discussing their relationship with alcohol to encourage other alcoholics to do the same reflection.
T.J. Holmes & Amy Robach Reflect On Their Alcoholism
During a new episode of their “Amy & T.J.” podcast, Holmes and Robach reflected on how they used alcohol as a coping mechanism in 2023. The couple admitted that their alcohol intake last year “appalled” them and called the year their personal version of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
Robach and Holmes were referring to the impact of their affair scandal on the year, including losing their co-host positions at ABC’s “GMA3.”
She said, “I didn’t have a job to go to and I was away from a lot of friends and family. We were laying low. So what did I do? I drank a lot. A lot more than I ever have. I don’t think I have ever gone a full year where I drink every single day and that was 2023 for me.”
Robach explained that her alcohol intake wasn’t to the extent of getting “drunk” or “wasted,” but allowed her to maintain a daily buzz and keep “a heightened state of mind during an anxious year.”
Holmes agreed with his lover and said he’s realized that he “needs to reexamine [his] relationship with alcohol.”
The couple further revealed how heavy their alcohol intake was before they decided to quit drinking completely. Robach shared that she was averaging “over 30 drinks a week,” while Holmes shockingly revealed that he could “easily go through 18 drinks” in one day, which surprised his girlfriend too.
T.J. Holmes & Amy Robach Spent Nearly $3k On Alcohol
As they discussed their alcoholism, Holmes and Robach also analyzed how much money they spent on alcohol monthly in 2023 and shocked themselves with their final calculation.
The couple focused their calculations on the alcohol they ordered from the delivery app Drizly and the receipts from various bars.
For their December total, Holmes revealed that he and Robach both spent $2,869 on their alcohol intake.
He also added, “This doesn’t include, however, the trips we made once in a while to a liquor store.” The couple was silent for a minute as they absorbed the thousands of dollars they’d likely spent through the year on just alcoholic beverages.
The Couple Would Drink Through The Day
When Robach expressed surprise at Holmes’ high alcohol intake, he explained how he’d spread them through his daily routine. Holmes said they’re both “big runners” and often took “runs for fun” that extended several miles and often ended with them at a bar.
He said, “Now we will run at 8 or 9 in the morning …. and I come back and we have a beer.”
Holmes explained that by lunchtime, he’d have already consumed two drinks and then taken another two drinks in the afternoon. If there were no errands to run, the TV personality said he’d “easily have a drink in [his] hand from two in the afternoon until seven, eight, nine, ten at night.”
He added, “So you do those numbers and that’s a drink an hour for another eight hours — or even less — but that is another eight hours of a drink in hand, plus the four I had during the day.”
While the number of drinks Holmes and Robach shared seems high when thinking of it as bottles, the couple said they have a different idea of what constitutes a drink. Accordingly, one drink is either a beer, a glass of wine, or a half ounce of liquor, so Holmes’ “18 drinks” would be better understood as 18 heavy pours.
T.J. Holmes & Amy Robach Want To Encourage Other Alcoholics
Holmes and Robach told their podcast listeners that they had their podcast discussion about their relationship with alcohol because they wanted to motivate other alcoholics to confront their relationship with booze.
They revealed that they’re doing dry January, which isn’t a first for Holmes but a new thing for Robach. She shared that she’d never have done the challenge if Holmes hadn’t given her the courage to do it.
Robach said, “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.’”
