Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Detail Secretly Overcoming 'Ugliness' 1 Year Ago When Others Tried to 'Attack' Them

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are reflecting on their noteworthy past year.

On Dec. 5, 2023, the couple launched their iHeartRadio podcast, Amy & T.J.. It was news that came several months after PEOPLE confirmed that they would not be returning to their roles at ABC News and GMA3 amid their relationship, which first made headlines in November 2022.

While speaking on Thursday's podcast episode which was titled "365 Days Later...", Robach, 51, said "it's a daunting task" to "start over."

"I think back to last Dec. 5, and there were tears, there were fears. I was scared and excited all at once," she said.

Holmes, 47, added of how he felt on Dec. 5 last year, "I was frustrated, I was p-----, I was nervous. That became fear later, but it wasn't a celebratory day at the time, because we learned that there are still forces out there who are after us no matter what we do, and our success and our joy and our happiness and our future is threatening and upsetting to some people." 

The broadcaster said it "was a big day for us a year ago," telling the podcast that "others chose to try to attack us on that day, even." 

"That's my honest answer," Holmes shared. "That's how I was that day... We had family stuff going on because of it. That was some ugliness on Dec. 5 last year, and nobody will ever know and we will never reveal. But it was a difficult day, a very difficult day, and it shouldn't have been."

Robach admitted, "I don't know how I forgot about all of that, but you're right, that marked so much of the day, and I do believe looking back... we have had plenty of tough days in between, and we still will have plenty of tough days going forward. But it's what you learn along the way about what you're made of and how you get through these things, how we get through it together — which is challenging in moments, but it's what brings us together in the end." 

"I think, gosh, going through darkness gives you the perspective of how great it feels to be in the light, to be in the sunshine," she insisted.

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The duo have spoken openly over the past year or so about the media storm that resulted from their relationship.

Robach and Holmes have both clarified that it did not overlap at all with their prior marriages to Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig, respectively. Both couples have since divorced.

On the Oct. 28 episode of their podcast, the pair were asked, "Would you say this is the most you have loved yourself?"

"I will say yes, now," Robach responded at the time. "But going through the last two years, I had moments where I struggled because the narrative that was being spun about me — and about us — weighed on me, and I had to work through that."

"I fell into a little bit of that spiral when we were constantly in the headlines and people had the narrative wrong and were judgmental, and I felt the weight of that," Robach continued, adding that she's now "the best" she's been in terms of the love she has for herself.