Amy Robach Says Fourth of July Is Tough for Her as It's a Reminder of a 'Serious' Accident Resulting in Uncle's Death

Robach shared a "traumatic" story from when she was 14, involving her parents and uncle being struck by lightning on the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is not typically the happiest holiday for Amy Robach as it serves as a reminder of a very important safety lesson she learned when she was young.

On the July 3 episode of her and T.J. Holmes’ Amy & T.J. podcast, the former GMA3 anchor reflected on a “very traumatic” experience she had when she was a teenager on the Fourth of July – one that changed the holiday for her ever since.

Her family used to celebrate Independence Day together and had a bunch of “traditions,” she said, but those “kinda fell off because of one Fourth of July when I was 14.”

“It's actually really serious,” Robach, 51, said before sharing the scary story of when her “parents got struck by lightning and my uncle did too," which she said ultimately "changed the Fourth [of] July for us.”

Related: T.J. Holmes Didn't Correct Someone Who Called Amy Robach His Wife: 'Nice Ring to It'

"I'm reacting a certain way because I've heard this story 50 times," Holmes, 46, said as he jumped in, noting that everyone else listening was thinking, "What the hell is going on?"

“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," she recalled.

"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. 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.”

Robach continued, warning listeners of the dangers she learned so young. “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.”

Related: Amy Robach Recalls the Moment T.J. Holmes Told Her He Loved Her After Building 'Deep Foundation of Friendship'

“Things in my house changed after that,” she said, adding that she “got into a habit of traveling around the Fourth of July” and she hasn’t been “in the country during the Fourth of July for many, many years.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

This year, Robach confirmed that she'll be in the United States for the holiday "for the first time" in a while. Holmes noted that they aren't exactly sure where they will be for the holiday weekend, though they'll be with his 11-year-old daughter Sabine, who he shares with his ex-wife Marilee Fiebig.

Robach's daughters, however, will be "continuing the tradition and are gonna be out of the country on the Fourth of July," she said. She shares daughters Ava and Annalise with her ex-husband Tim McIntosh.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.