Marilee Fiebig isn’t afraid of a fight.
T.J. Holmes‘ estranged ex is preparing for battle by adding a second lawyer to her already impressive divorce team! According to The US Sun on Tuesday, the immigration lawyer has brought on Fara Rodriguez. Fara recently made partner at her firm Phillips Nizer LLP in Manhattan. She will join lead attorney Stephanie F. Lehman on the case, who is also a partner at the same firm.
According to the site, Marilee brought Fara on late last week, just one day after Stephanie demanded T.J. file his official divorce complaint. As we reported, T.J. filed the initial divorce paperwork on December 28 in New York City… right before heading out on a steamy Miami vacation with his new lover, Amy Robach. Oof.
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This move comes as the exes are working out a legal split after the ousted Good Morning America host was caught having an extramarital affair with his co-host in late November. Of course, since then, several more reports have come out, showing T.J. actually had a pattern of extramarital affairs throughout his 12-year marriage. And all of this Marilee has been learning in real-time with the rest of us! What a sucker punch!
While it’s unclear where things stand amid the divorce right now, Fara’s resume shows she has a great track record of handling the intricacies of separations and family law — an important specialty considering T.J. and Marilee are co-parents of a 10-year-old daughter. Her bio reads, per the outlet:
“Fara is adept at representing clients during this distressing time in their lives by compassionately and confidently finding solutions to the complex challenges they often face.”
Seeing how messy the pair’s split was, it’s really no surprise to see Marilee wants people skilled at handling “complex” cases on her side.
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For her part, Stephanie has already been outspoken in support of her client, saying in a statement earlier this month:
“…we continue to be disappointed by T.J.’s lack of discretion, respect and sensitivity toward Marilee and the party’s daughter. During the holiday season and in light of the challenging times, Marilee’s sole focus has remained on the overall best interest of her [10-year-old] daughter.”
T.J. has hired Robert H. Moses of Moses Ziegelman Richards & Notaro, LLP — a very noteworthy lawyer we hear — to fight for him in the divorce. In December 2022, Moses was named NYC’s “Lawyer of the Year” in Best Lawyers: The Family Law Issue 2023. So no wonder Marilee’s doubling her team!
In the meantime, she seems to be keeping a close eye on the pair’s kiddo, who is no doubt having a tough time wrapping her head around this dramatic — and sudden! — life change. The doting mother even reposted a cryptic Instagram slide about how to care for a child who is “worried.” Since it was coming from her employer, Save The Children, it could have just been a work thing, but… it also seems likely she was trying to shed light on how the many kids wrapped up in this affair might be feeling.
Let’s just hope the couple can settle their divorce with the least amount of problems and arguments as possible. T.J. owes his family that! But will it happen? We’re not sure. He’s likely very stressed by his rocky romance with Amy and his likely ousting at GMA, so who knows who he might take his frustrations out on… Reactions, Perezcious readers? What do you make of Marilee hiring a second lawyer? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via Marilee Fiebig/Instagram & GMA/YouTube]