Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are no strangers to unceremonious exits from ABC News, so they sympathize with recently ousted meteorologist Rob Marciano, who was fired over alleged “temper” issues.
The couple spoke about their “friend and colleague” on the latest episode of their Amy & T.J. Podcast, where they mentioned how someone recently “reminded” the couple that “nobody leaves ABC News in a pretty fashion.”
“It’s a tough situation,” Robach said, per People. “We have walked down that road and it’s not an easy one. And I think [Marciano] might still be going through a divorce. So we know what it’s like to have your entire life upended, career and personal life. And we both have known Rob for a long time.”
Robach and Holmes were former co-anchors of the ABC daytime talk show GMA3 but were put on hiatus in December 2022 after news of their workplace relationship became public. On January 27, 2023, it was announced that Holmes and Robach would depart the network.
“[Marciano is] one of the best guys I’ve ever seen in the field covering weather,” Holmes added, noting how he doesn’t “know all the details” behind the firing. “Whatever it is, we hate to see somebody who’s been a friend and colleague for a long time end up in this place, this position to be talked about the way he’s being talked about to some degree.”
Marciano, who joined ABC News in 2014, was fired earlier this week, with sources claiming a “heated screaming match” led to the decision. Insiders told The Daily Beast that the weathercaster went on a tirade against one of the Good Morning America producers, and the network’s chief meteorologist, Ginger Zee, reported the incident to higher-ups.
Robach noted, “We do know what it’s like to have those headlines, to be the subject of clickbait. And that’s a tough position for anyone to be going through, especially someone who is a father of two. I know how much he loves his kids. He talks about them all the time. So it’s just tough to see those headlines almost, for the sake of his family, his kids, him, all of that. So our heart goes out to him.”
“I do applaud all the work he has bravely done over the last decade or so, and we wish him the very best,” she concluded.
Despite reports of Marciano’s alleged anger issues, other sources have since come forward to defend the weatherman as “professional” and “positive.”
A source who regularly works with Marciano told People that he and his current colleagues found the news of his departure “unexpected” and called the reports about his alleged bad behavior a “hit job.”
“Rob is always positive, hands on and never anything but professional,” the source claimed. “People enjoy working with him and he’s not difficult to work with.”
A female editor who worked with Marciano on his weather segment backed up those claims, telling the outlet, “Rob was always such a nice guy, and I loved when he stopped by my edit room to check on his weather packages.”
“Rob is great. No one championed my career in that building more than he did and no one took care of the crew in the field better than he did in my 10 years of working there,” a third source who worked with Marciano at CNN added.
Before joining ABC News, Marciano served as co-anchor on Entertainment Tonight and a meteorologist for CNN. In addition to his GMA appearances, he also provided weather updates for ABC’s nightly news program, World News Tonight.