Amy Robach

Amy Joanne Robach (born February 6, 1973) is a television presenter for ABC News. She is the co-anchor of 20/20 and the breaking news anchor/fill-in anchor for Good Morning America. She was a national correspondent for NBC News, co-host of the Saturday edition of NBC's Today, and anchor on MSNBC. Since May 2018, she has been the co-anchor of 20/20 alongside David Muir, replacing Elizabeth Vargas.

Early life

Born in St. Joseph, Michigan, Robach grew up in East Lansing, Michigan before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. Her family moved again to Georgia where she attended high school and college. She graduated from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, and from the University of Georgia with high honors in broadcast journalism. She was 4th runner-up in the 1995 Miss Georgia pageant.

Career

Robach worked at WTTG in Washington, D.C., then came to MSNBC in 2003 where she spent four years, including a stint anchoring two hours in the morning, and filling in on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Morning Joe. She was named co-anchor of Weekend Today in July 2007. Her last day on Weekend Today was May 19, 2012, when she announced she would be moving to ABC News.

Robach initially appeared on ABC's Good Morning America program as a correspondent. She became the show's news anchor on March 31, 2014. On April 23, 2018, she announced she would be leaving to become the new anchor of 20/20. She continues to work on “GMA” as a breaking-news anchor, shipping out to cover major news, such as natural disasters, in the field.

Jeffrey Epstein story

On November 2, 2019, Project Veritas released a late August 2019 "hot mic" incident in which Robach discusses ABC shutting down her story on billionaire convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in 2015. Robach's comments came just two days after an NPR story disclosed the existence of an on-camera interview with Virginia Roberts Giuffre and ABC's failure to broadcast it. Giuffre says she was sexually trafficked by Epstein to powerful men including Prince Andrew — a claim the Duke of York has strenuously denied. In the "hot mic" video, Robach is sitting on a chair at a studio set for ABC's Good Morning America, at times swinging back and forth while speaking remotely through her microphone with an unseen colleague. It appears to be the early morning hours before broadcast or during advertising breaks.

"I've had the story for three years," Robach says in the video. "We would not put it on the air. Um, first of all, I was told, 'Who was Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.' Then the palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways." Robach goes on to say that Giuffre alluded to others in the interview, including former President Bill Clinton, Harvard University law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz and Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre has made similar accusations against all of them also in court documents. (All deny any wrongdoing or involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking.) Giuffre has said in court papers that she saw Clinton in Epstein's presence but did not witness Clinton participate in any sexual activity.

"I tried for three years to get it out to no avail, and now these new revelations and — I freaking had all of it," Robach says on the tape. "I'm so pissed right now. Like, every day I get more and more pissed, 'cause I'm just like, 'Oh my God! It was — what we had, was unreal.' "

Robach responded to the leaked video with this statement: "As a journalist, as the Epstein story continued to unfold last summer, I was caught in a private moment of frustration. I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with Virginia Roberts didn’t air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standards about her allegations. My comments about Prince Andrew and her allegation that she had seen Bill Clinton on Epstein's private island were in reference to what Virginia Roberts said in that interview in 2015. I was referencing her allegations—not what ABC News had verified through our reporting. The interview itself, while I was disappointed it didn't air, didn't meet our standards. In the years since no one ever told me or the team to stop reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, and we have continued to aggressively pursue this important story."

ABC News issued a statement, asserting: "At the time, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story. Ever since, we’ve had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it. That work has led to a two-hour documentary and 6-part podcast that will air in the new year."

Personal life

Family

Robach is a cousin of former Nashville Star contestant Matt Lindahl. Her aunt and uncle were performing-arts teachers at her high school.

Robach was married to Tim McIntosh from 1996 until filing for an uncontested divorce in 2008. They have two daughters, Ava (2002) and Analise (2006).

Robach became engaged to former Melrose Place star Andrew Shue in September 2009, after meeting him at a book party the previous April. They were married on Robach's 37th birthday, February 6, 2010, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, adjacent to the Hudson River. Robach has three stepsons from her marriage to Andrew Shue, Nate (1997) Aidan (1999) and Wyatt (2004).

Health

On November 11, 2013, Robach revealed on Good Morning America that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after receiving a mammogram on live television on October 1, 2013, and after undergoing follow-up tests. She took time off from broadcasting to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. On November 22, 2013, Robach revealed that during the surgery, doctors found a second malignant tumor in her other breast and that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes (classified as Stage IIB). She then underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgery.