GMA3 hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach have been taken off the air indefinitely as ABC executives deal with “internal confusion” after rumors of the anchors’ romance circulated last week. News of the affair reportedly resulted in a boost in ratings.

Holmes and Robach seem to have begun a relationship while both being married. Robach has been married to actor Andrew Shue since 2010 and Holmes married lawyer Marilee Fiebig the same year.

ABC News’ President Kim Goodwin said the couple did not violate company policy but has deemed the romance a “distraction.”

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“I’m asking that we stop the whispering in the hallways,” Goodwin is reported to have said during an internal company call on Monday. “You know, we can’t operate with gossip, and speculation and rumors. We need to stay focused on the work.”

ABC National Correspondent Stephanie Ramos and Transportation Correspondent Gio Benitez sat in for the duo to host Monday afternoon’s GMA3 amid the growing scandal.

The stand-in anchors began Monday’s program by telling viewers, “Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes have the day off,” before continuing business as usual.

Holmes and Robach have not released an official statement on the nature of their relationship, but the co-hosts seemed to laugh off the news at the top of Friday’s show.

“It’s been a great week,” Holmes said. “I just want this one to keep going and going and going. Just enjoy it.”

In late November, DailyMail published a report that sparked relationship rumors between Holmes and Robach.

The report published online showed the pair laughing and getting close over beers at O’Donoghue’s bar in Times Square. The report included photos of the co-hosts getting into a car together to go to Robach’s West Village apartment, holding hands in the back of an Uber and enjoying a private getaway in upstate New York.

The public has expressed support for the couple and outrage toward ABC for taking them off air.

“It’s a bit icky if ABC really pulled T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach off air for having a consensual relationship between two equal-level colleagues,” reporter Raven Brunner tweeted. She called ABC’s response “excessive.”

Other Twitter users called ABC’s response “over the top” and a “ridiculous overreaction.”

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Article by Claire Franken

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