Karl Stefanovic has opened up about his very public divorce from Cassandra Thorburn.
The television presenter, who returned to the Today show at the start of the year, separated from his wife of 21 years in 2016.
Now, a year on from his lavish wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough, the 45-year-old has spoken to Neil Mitchell on 3AW about dealing with his marriage breakdown in the public eye.
Watch Karl Stefanovic react to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Family resignation on the Today show. Post continues below.
“Personally, it was a bit hard because I thought a lot of people do go through relationship difficulties and, unfortunately, for me that was in a very public way, but that’s what happens when you’re a public person,” Stefanovic said on the radio show yesterday.
“But I thought, ‘Well hang on, a lot of people go through this, and why is mine such a big deal?’ I still don’t know why it was,” he continued.
“I got divorced, I did find love again, and I’m sorry if people are offended by that, but it’s made me really happy.”
Just months after Stefanovic split from Thorburn, the Channel Nine presenter met Yarbrough, a decade his junior, while onboard a luxury cruise ship in Sydney.
They later went public with their relationship in 2017, when they were pictured in Bora Bora on James Packer’s yacht.
At the time, Karl’s detractors thought he had moved on from his marriage too quickly, while ratings for the Today show struggled.
After that, there was the infamous Ubergate scandal, in which Karl and Peter Stefanovic were caught ‘complaining’ about his then co-host Georgie Gardner, as well as their Channel Nine bosses.
It was a combination of these incidents that ultimately led to Stefanovic’s demise. Just days before he married Yarbrough, the television presenter was controversially removed from the Today show.
Speaking to Neil Mitchell, Stefanovic admitted that his time away from the show was difficult, adding that he went through some “genuinely black times”.
“Look, my life hasn’t been that difficult, and I think there are people out there who have far worse going on… so I’m not going to rabbit on about how difficult my life was,” he said.
“But there were certainly periods where I thought, ‘Oh my god, all I’ve ever done is really work hard and try and do the best I could for a show or a network.’ And then I thought, ‘Well, hang on a second, how have I got it so wrong?'”
During his interview, Stefanovic also praised his new co-host, Allison Langdon.
“It’s a difficult job and she’s handled all the pressure incredibly well,” he said.
“I think that the most difficult thing – something that Lisa Wilkinson did incredibly well and still does, is just be able to converse on air like you’re having a cup of coffee with someone. She’s able to just talk freely about things, and that’s difficult to do on air.”
Karl Stefanovic is the comeback kid. Seriously. The Mamamia Out Loud team discuss. Post continues after podcast.
Stefanovic married shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough in a three-day wedding extravaganza in Mexico in December 2018.
Since their wedding, the couple have been subject to countless rumours about their future baby plans.
In December 2019, Stefanovic seemingly confirmed that Yarbrough was expecting their first child together, sharing a paparazzi photo of himself emerging from the ocean while holidaying in Byron Bay.
“After a great deal of speculation… the rumours are true,” Karl wrote, alongside a baby emoji.
Stefanovic has three children with ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn – Jackson, 20, Ava, 13 and River, 12.
Feature Image: Getty.
For more on this topic:
- “You’re out of step.” Karl Stefanovic’s heated confrontation with Scott Morrison.
- “It starts with putting Australia and Australians first.” Karl Stefanovic returns to the Today show.
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Top Comments
I’m not sure it was the divorce that was the problem, but perhaps how he paraded his new life? I know everyone has the right to find happiness and people move in, but personally I thought it was a bit insensitive to his kids who happened to be at delicate ages and having to navigate their parents pending divorce. I feel a bit of discretion in those early days would have gone a long way.
He didn't "parade" his new life. Having the Daily Mail photograph you while you go about your daily business is not "parading" anything. They didn't sell their story when they first got together, nor splash everything around social media. Short of going into witness protection, I'm not sure how they could have stayed any more low-key. Are you criticising that they chose to have an elaborate wedding? Why should they not? It was the bride's first marriage - why should she have to sneak off to a registry office somewhere on the down-low? They didn't do anything wrong - people get divorced and remarried all the time.
Last year after he was removed from the today show and he decided to ah low, we barely heard a word about Karl. It can be done.
I never said anything about his wedding or about him finding love again, just that he could have been more discreet in the early days for his children. Please do not try to find cause for outrage when there is none.
I'm personally not outraged at all - I find all the outrage over how he "flaunted" anything bemusing. I'm curious: what exactly did he do that you feel was so "indiscreet" in the early days? Is it that he dared to go out in public and not go into witness protection so as not to be papped? It's not surprising that there was less attention on him after he left the Today Show - his relationship was old news by then.