"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King called the ongoing cheating scandal inside rival ABC News "very messy and very sloppy," and expressed concern for the children involved in T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach's extramarital affair.
Bravo's Andy Cohen noted to King on Thursday that "all hell is breaking loose" at ABC over the lovebirds, who were sidelined this week from their daytime show "GMA3" as the network figures out how to manage blowback.
"Oh, gosh. Of all the questions I was hoping we would not talk about this," King said.
"I’m not asking you about what’s going on over there," Cohen insisted. "I want to know, when all hell is breaking loose at ‘GMA’ or the ‘Today’ show, do you come into work and you open the paper like, ‘Thank God it’s not us?’"
King quickly said, "No."
"I mean, I look at the situation and I do say it’s very interesting what’s happening over there, It’s just gotten very messy and very sloppy," she said. "I do think that."
ABC insiders initially insisted that Holmes and Robach would not be disciplined for their affair, but ABC News President Kim Godwin informed staffers on Monday morning that the "distraction" had become too significant, and she pulled them off the air "while we figure this out." Many industry insiders believe parent company Disney stepped in when the tabloid fodder became reputation-damaging national news.
"In the beginning I actually thought good on ‘Good Morning America,’ they’re not taking them off the air, two consenting adults, but then the more you read, it's just very messy, and I think, to me, it's a sad situation. You've got kids involved, you've got families involved, and I keep thinking about that," King said. "I'm very concerned about that."
King is no stranger to workplace drama herself, as she co-anchored "CBS This Morning" alongside Charlie Rose when he was fired in 2017 over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Holmes and Robach have been "locked in a passionate romance despite both being married to their respective spouses for the past 12 years," the Daily Mail reported last week in a story that included several intimate photos of the midday anchors taken throughout November.
The New York Post followed with a series of bombshell exclusive reports, indicating that Holmes may have cheated on his wife with multiple ABC News staffers.
The Post also reported that Holmes and Robach "began their alleged romance while they were training for the New York City Half Marathon in March but didn’t leave their respective spouses, Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig, until August."
Robach has been married to former "Melrose Place" star Shue for 12 years. Shue and Robach co-wrote a 2021 children’s book titled "Better Together," based on their blended family. Holmes has been married to Fiebig since 2010.