Amy Robach has revealed why the Fourth of July is not one of her favorite holidays.
The former GMA3 anchor, 51, doesn't associate the day with happy memories following a "very traumatic" experience when she was just 14 years old.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Amy & T.J. podcast with her boyfriend, T.J. Holmes, Amy recalled the terrifying day that her parents and uncle got struck by lightning.
The tragic incident resulted in the death of her uncle Jack, and Amy admitted that it ultimately "changed the Fourth [of] July for us".
Recalling the painful day, Amy explained: "So the Fourth of July is always…. I am aware of thunderstorms. It always makes me a little nervous, because it was a very traumatic thing. But my parents, yeah, my mom and dad got seriously injured.
"They were in the hospital for weeks. My mom was in the hospital for weeks. My dad was in the ICU, but their tennis shoes got blown off of their feet. Their clothes had to be cut off of them."
© InstagramShe added: "They were — my dad… had to have CPR performed on him. And my uncle Jack, actually, ultimately died. He was up against the tree that [the lightning] hit, and my parents were blown standing next to him, and he just crumbled."
Warning listeners, Amy continued: "Lightning kills and the Fourth of July is one of those holidays where everybody's out and about, and it tends to be a thunderstorm-heavy, holiday."
© InstagramAdmitting "things in my house changed after that," Amy "got into a habit of traveling around the Fourth of July" and has avoided being "in the country during the Fourth of July for many, many years".
However, this year marks a change to her new tradition as she revealed she will be spending the holding in the US "for the first time" in years.
© Getty ImagesWhile she didn't share details, Amy revealed that she and T.J. will spend the holiday with his 11-year-old daughter Sabine, whom he shares with his ex-wife Marilee Fiebig.
Amy's daughters Ava and Annalise – who she shares with her first ex-husband Tim McIntosh – will be "continuing the tradition and are gonna be out of the country on the Fourth of July," she added.
© InstagramAmy's revelation comes after she spoke about her decision to leave her second husband, Andrew Shue, for T.J. after their relationship came to light in 2022.
"[My] cancer journey played a huge role in my decision," she said on their podcast in June. "I asked myself, if your cancer came back and you knew you had one year to live, how would you spend it? And it wasn't even close. I would spend it with T.J."
© InstagramAmy continued: "I have preached, and I've given speeches to breast cancer survivors … and anyone who's gone through anything life-threatening or had anything where you thought you might die, whatever it is. You learn that tomorrow is not guaranteed."
Amy battled breast cancer in 2013 and has been helping to raise awareness and funds for the disease ever since.
