TJ Holmes says he can ‘easily drink 18 drinks a day’ before taking part in Dry January… while talking alcohol with partner Amy Robach on their podcast

TJ Holmes and Amy Robach talk candidly about drinking too much during a stressful and tumultuous 2023 on their Amy and TJ podcast Thursday, when they started a Dry January.

Both Holmes, 46, and Robach, 50, said they abstain from alcohol for at least the first month of the year.

They admitted there was a significant increase in drinking last year, amid the aftermath of their affair being made public, at a time when both television journalists were both married to other people.

Holmes said he drinks “easily 18 drinks a day,” adding details on what he defines as a drink.

“According to the official guidelines, one drink is one beer or five-ounce glass of wine or one-and-a-half ounces of spirits,” the West Memphis, Arkansas, resident said.

Robach said the amount of alcohol she drank was appalling, amid the stress resulting from the publicity affair and the personal and professional fallout afterward, which saw both fired from their jobs at Good Morning America in January 2023.

The St. Joseph, Michigan, resident said 2023 reminded her of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I had no job to go to and I was away from a lot of friends and family,” Robach said. ‘What have I done? I drank a lot. Much more than I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever drank a whole day and for me that was 2023.”

Robach said that although she drank consistently, she did not “get wasted or drunk,” but rather tried to change her mood as she struggled through a difficult time in her life.

“It was staying on a buzz all day,” she said, “or maintaining an elevated state of mind during an anxious year.”

Holmes said that facing unpleasant truths was an essential element in recognizing a problem that needs to be fixed.

“Part of this is we have to be honest,” he said. ‘So we are going to be honest about our alcohol consumption, why we do it, what that number actually is and what we are going to do about it.’

He added: ‘I’m certainly someone who needs to re-examine my relationship with alcohol now and in recent years. And that’s what we do.

Holmes said he drinks “easily 18 drinks” a day, adding details on what he defines as a drink

He said: ‘According to official guidelines, one drink is one beer, or a five-ounce glass of wine or one-and-a-half ounces of spirits.’

Robach said the amount of alcohol she drank was appalling, amid the stress resulting from the publicity affair and the personal and professional fallout afterward, which saw both fired from their jobs at Good Morning America in January 2023.

Holmes and Robach said they often started drinking after their morning run.

“I like to run in the morning, but something you got me into is a ‘run for fun’ – when you’re done running, you end up at the bar,” Holmes said. “Now we go running at eight or nine in the morning and I come back and we have a beer.

‘I put two beers in the freezer and let them get a little colder, then we drink the beer. So you have one and I end up with two. So here we are at 10am, two drinks down. That’s easy.’

Holmes said he and Robach would have at least two drinks when they went to lunch.

“Now if we’re not on the road for a day and are just inside, I can easily have a drink in my hand from noon to 9 p.m.,” Holmes said. “You do those numbers and that’s one drink per hour for another eight hours – or even less – but that’s another eight hours of drinking in hand plus the four I had during the day.”

Robach clarified, “You don’t really pour eighteen drinks, you count the drinks you pour in.”

The couple launched their new podcasting effort last November, in which they talk about their relationship and other personal issues.

Holmes said on the show’s first podcast: “The best way to sum us up, Amy and TJ, is that we are the people who lost the jobs we love because we love each other.

Robach said, “I had no job to go to and I was away from a lot of friends and family. What have I done? I drank a lot. Much more than I’ve ever done

The couple was photographed in LA last month at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball

“I’m in love with this woman and she’s in love with me and we’re planning a life together.”

Robach said of the current state of their relationship, “Relationships are hard, they’re messy, they’re not perfect. We fought for love, and I can say that I have never been happier. I’m with my best friend.’

In a twist amid the relationship fallout, Robach’s ex-husband, Melrose Place star Andrew Shue, 56, was spotted dating Holmes’ ex-wife Marilee Fiebig, 44, last month.