If you listen closely, you can almost hear the echo of laughter and hustle that once filled the halls of ABC’s famed studios in New York City, where the GMA3 team used to gather before sunrise, fueled by coffee and the adrenaline of live television. Now, those same halls are eerily quiet, the air thick with uncertainty and the bitterness of a mass layoff that blindsided dozens of staffers—an exodus so sweeping, so sudden, and so personal that even the seasoned TV veterans are left reeling, asking the same question over and over: How did it come to this?

The answer, according to those who lost their jobs, is as simple as it is infuriating: Amy Robach and TJ Holmes. The once-golden duo whose on-air chemistry was the stuff of morning show legend. The canoodling co-hosts whose off-screen affair became the most salacious media scandal of 2022, and whose abrupt firing, two years ago, set off a domino effect that has finally toppled the last domino—leaving the GMA3 staff out in the cold, and the future of the show hanging by a thread.

“It is a complete s***show,” one insider tells The U.S. Sun, their voice heavy with disbelief and exhaustion. “Everyone’s looking around, wondering who’s next. But for GMA3, there’s no one left. We’re all gone.”

It’s hard to overstate the sense of betrayal swirling through the ranks. For months, rumors of layoffs had been whispered in the break rooms, but few expected the axe to fall so hard on GMA3, the afternoon spinoff that was once the network’s pride and joy. With the morning and afternoon versions of Good Morning America now merged for cost efficiency, the lower-rated GMA3 was always vulnerable—but no one expected such a brutal culling. And no one, not even the most jaded producer, could have predicted the level of resentment that would be aimed squarely at Amy and TJ.

“They ruined it for everyone,” says another staffer, not bothering to hide their anger. “They were selfish. They put their own desires ahead of the show, ahead of the team. When they got fired, it was like the soul of GMA3 was ripped out. The execs tried to replace them, but nobody ever had that spark, that magic. The ratings never recovered. And now the rest of us are paying the price.”

It’s a sentiment echoed in almost every conversation with the axed staffers, who describe the layoffs as a “nightmare” and a “slow-motion car crash” that began the day the news broke about Amy and TJ’s affair. Back then, the headlines were breathless and relentless—two married co-hosts, caught in a whirlwind romance, their careers and marriages unraveling in real time under the glare of the tabloid spotlight. ABC acted swiftly, firing both hosts in early 2023, hoping to stem the bleeding. But the wound never really healed.

The chemistry between Amy and TJ had been lightning in a bottle, the kind of effortless, unscripted banter that can’t be manufactured or replaced. Viewers tuned in not just for the news, but for the dynamic between the two—flirty, fun, and unmistakably real. When they left, the show lost its heart, and the audience never quite forgave the network for letting them go.

“Staff blamed Amy and TJ for being selfish and ruining the show, essentially, when they were let go,” says the insider. “They’ve never hired anyone with quite the same level of charisma that TJ and Amy had that had people tuning in to watch them together.”

Now, with the production team gutted and the show’s future uncertain, the sense of loss is palpable. The current hosts, Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan, have done their best to steer the ship through turbulent waters, but even their best efforts haven’t been enough to recapture the old magic. And behind the scenes, the changes have been even more jarring.

Simone Swing, the senior executive producer at GMA, is now overseeing all GMA-branded shows, including GMA3. The move is part of a broader restructuring at ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment, with layoffs hitting programs across all time slots. The days of assigned desks, personal photos, and a sense of family are gone. Staff now share desks and store their belongings in lockers, a stark reminder that nothing is permanent—not even in the world of morning television.

“There are no longer assigned desks with personal photos of people’s families and other personal effects,” says one longtime employee, their voice tinged with nostalgia. “Staff are now sharing desks and there are lockers where you can put your things and pick them up at the end of your shift. It’s a very different work landscape than they had in the old uptown ABC offices.”

For many, the writing had been on the wall since the network moved into its new downtown digs—a move that, in retrospect, feels like the beginning of the end. The sense of community that once defined the GMA team has been replaced by a cold, corporate efficiency. And as the layoffs continue, the survivors are left wondering if they’ll be next.

Meanwhile, Amy and TJ have moved on, launching a podcast empire and turning their scandal into a second act. Their “Amy & TJ” podcast, and the follow-up “The Morning Run,” have garnered a loyal following, and the couple have been unapologetically candid about their messy exit from ABC. In a podcast episode last year, they reflected on the not-so-pretty departures of their former colleagues, including weatherman Rob Marciano, who left the network after a decade.

“We were with somebody just at a breakfast the other morning where somebody reminded us, ‘Hey, nobody leaves ABC News in a pretty fashion.’ That’s what they said,” TJ recalled, the bitterness still fresh in his voice. Amy agreed: “Word for word. It’s a tough situation. Yes, we have walked down that road. It’s not an easy one.”

Their sympathy for Rob was genuine—“He’s one of the best,” TJ said—but it was impossible to ignore the subtext: at ABC, loyalty only goes so far, and no one is safe when the ratings dip and the headlines turn ugly.

For the staffers left behind, the couple’s new life is a bitter pill to swallow. Many feel abandoned, left to pick up the pieces while Amy and TJ reinvent themselves as podcast stars. “They walked away with their careers intact, their relationship intact, and now we’re the ones out of work,” grumbles one producer, packing up their desk for the last time. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”

And yet, the show goes on—at least for now. ABC is quick to tout GMA3’s ratings, boasting in a press release that the show is beating NBC News Daily. But behind the scenes, morale is at an all-time low, and the sense of impending doom is hard to shake. Even the network’s biggest names aren’t immune to the churn: Michael Strahan, a beloved fixture on GMA for seven years, is reportedly considering his own exit, with rumors swirling that he’ll be gone by summer.

“He will be out by this summer—he’s had enough,” one NewsNation insider claims, fueling speculation that the upheaval at ABC is far from over.

For viewers, the changes are both dizzying and disheartening. The faces they’ve come to trust are disappearing, one by one, replaced by a rotating cast of new hosts and producers. The warmth and camaraderie that once defined GMA3 has been replaced by a sense of unease, a feeling that anything could happen—and probably will.

And for the staffers who’ve lost their jobs, the pain is still raw. Many had spent years—some, decades—pouring their hearts into the show, building relationships that felt more like family than colleagues. Now, as they pack up their things and say goodbye to the only home they’ve ever known, they’re left to wonder what comes next.

“It’s not just a job,” says one tearful staffer, clutching a framed photo of the old team. “It’s a way of life. And now it’s gone.”

The irony, of course, is that the very thing that made GMA3 special—the chemistry between Amy and TJ, the sense of family among the staff—was also its undoing. When that bond was broken, the show lost its soul. And no amount of corporate restructuring or ratings spin can bring it back.

As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the era of GMA3 as we knew it is over. The staffers who poured their hearts into the show are gone, casualties of a scandal that was never really theirs to bear. And the viewers, left with little more than memories of what once was, are left to wonder if morning television will ever feel the same.

In the end, maybe that’s the real tragedy of the GMA3 layoffs—not just the loss of jobs, but the loss of something intangible, something irreplaceable. A sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, a sense of magic that can’t be manufactured, no matter how many focus groups or executive meetings are held.

For now, the lights are still on at the GMA3 studio. The cameras are still rolling. But for those who knew the show at its best, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the heart of GMA3 left the building a long time ago—right around the time Amy and TJ did. And as the network scrambles to pick up the pieces, the question remains: Can you ever really go back, once the magic is gone?

Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: in the cutthroat world of morning television, three’s a crowd—and sometimes, even that’s one too many.