Amy Robach experienced a very “unique” situation living with only her daughter, Annalise, during her divorce from ex-husband Andrew Shue.
Robach, 51, and Annalise, 18, spoke about the time together on the Monday, August 26, episode of the “Amy and T.J,” podcast, which Robach cohosts with boyfriend T.J. Holmes.
“You can look at the bad and the negative with divorce and upheaval and all of that. That’s not anything I would ever suggest or want for anyone or any family,” said Robach, a former anchor of ABC’s GMA3 and 20/20.
“However,” she told Annalise, “we have had the unique experience of being able to just be the two of us. And we always had so many people in our apartment and so many people, different people, living with us at different times.”
Annalise replied that living with just her mom “was a big change,” adding, “But I think we did [get] into a groove.” (Robach shares Annalise with her first husband, Tim McIntosh.)
Robach was still legally married to Shue, 57, when news of her romance with GMA3 coanchor Holmes, 47, broke in November 2022. She and Holmes were both fired from their jobs amid the drama surrounding their relationship. Robach and Holmes have said they were in the process of getting divorced from their respective partners, Shue and Holmes’ ex-wife Marilee Fiebig, when they became romantically involved. (Shue and Fiebig, 46, have since sparked their own respective romance.)
In addition to Annalise, Robach shares daughter Ava, 21, with McIntosh, while Holmes shares daughter Sabine, 11, with Fiebig, and daughter Brianna and son Jaiden with his first wife, Amy Ferson.
As for her family’s ups and downs, Annalise prefers to look forward, not back.
“I would definitely say not to dwell on the past,” she said, sharing a life lesson she’s learned from the past few years. “That would be my big thing. Things happen for a reason that might not be for a good reason, but, eventually, it all works out.”
She added, “And I think that also really applies to college. There’s so many things that’s gonna happen to me, and I just kind of have to keep going.”
After graduating from high school earlier this year, Annalise is leaving to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder and will spend her first semester studying abroad in Spain.
“I think we’ve only had, like, 1 or 2 flare ups ever in 18 years,” Robach said of her relationship with her youngest. “And that, I’m just appreciative. You are very calm and cool. Like, you’re the cool girl. Everybody wants you to be their friend.”
She compared Annalise to Holmes, observing, “It’s like, T.J. is the cool guy. Everybody wants him to like them. You have that same quality.”
Despite preparing to become an empty nester, a source exclusively told Us Weekly last month that Robach’s friends “have told her they’ve never seen her this happy.”
She and Holmes are excited about their future as a couple, but aren’t rushing into marriage anytime soon.
“They haven’t moved in together yet, but they spend almost every night together,” the source shared, noting that the couple are committed to “forever” together. “They’re not in a rush because they were friends before, they don’t want to ruin anything.”