ABC News announced to staff members on Monday that the anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach had been pulled from the network’s daytime talk show, “GMA3,” just days after their romantic relationship became public and turned into a tabloid sensation.
Kim Godwin, the president of ABC News, made the announcement during a 9 a.m. editorial call, saying that the relationship had become an “internal and external distraction,” according to three people who listened to her remarks.
Ms. Godwin said the relationship between the two on-air personalities, who co-anchor “GMA3” together, was not in violation of company policy. She did not say how long the hosts would be off the air, or whether they would return at all to the program, which is an offshoot of the network’s popular “Good Morning America” franchise. She also did not say whether they would lose pay.
“I’m asking that we stop whispering about it in the hallways,” Ms. Godwin said of the furor surrounding the hosts’ relationship, according to two people who listened to the call.
Gio Benitez and Stephanie Ramos, two ABC News correspondents, are expected to serve as interim hosts for the 1 p.m. show.
Last week, The Daily Mail reported that Mr. Holmes and Ms. Robach, both of whom are married, had been having an affair. The story was filled with photos of the anchors, and the relationship quickly spiraled into a tabloid feeding frenzy.
Initially, ABC News did not do anything. Ms. Godwin did not comment on the relationship at two separate internal meetings that occurred after The Daily Mail had published its story, and both hosts were at the “GMA3” anchor table on Thursday and Friday.
“It’s too bad it’s Friday,” Mr. Holmes remarked on the Friday afternoon edition of “GMA3.”
“Is it?” Ms. Robach said.
“It’s been a great week,” he replied, breaking into a wide smile. “I just want it to keep going, and going, and going. Just enjoy it.”
“Speak for yourself,” Ms. Robach said in response, laughing.
A representative for Mr. Holmes and Ms. Robach did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, the representative said: “They had been close friends for many years but this relationship started over the past few months, after they separated from their respective spouses in August. They had not told anyone, even at ABC, because they were waiting until they both were divorced.”
Katherine Rosman contributed reporting.
John Koblin and Michael M. Grynbaum
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