Karl Stefanovic has called his highly-publicised axing from the Today show last year a “relief”.
At Channel 9’s post-Logies recovery brunch this morning, the former Today co-host said he had been struggling towards the end of last year, the result of months of headlines over his split from Cassandra Thorburn, marriage to Jasmine Yarbrough, and comments he’d made about his colleagues in an Uber.
Stefanovic was dropped from Today in December during his honeymoon with Jasmine Yarbrough after their star-studded Mexico wedding.
Last night at the Logies, his sacking, divorce and new marriage were the subject of a number of jokes.
In his opening address, Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson said: “Channel 9 were happy to cash in on [MAFS'] ratings by showing off your tacky weddings - and then fired Karl Stefanovic for having one.”
But this morning, Stefanovic seemed unfazed by the comments made at his expense.
“It was good to be back [last night]. It’s been about six months since I was on the telly, and I needed to have a rest. Towards the end of last year, I was cooked,” Stefanovic said.
He continued: “It had taken its toll, a lot of the attention — all the unwarranted attention I thought, and you can’t control any of that, I’m not going to complain too much about that, but what it meant was that in a work capacity I don’t believe for a second I was at my best.
“I think I was struggling towards the end of last year.”
He added: “So it wasn’t a great surprise to me - in fact it was a relief in many ways - that I was taken off the Today show. Because I just wasn’t at my best and you can’t be doing that show unless you’re at the top of your game."
Stefanovic will be returning to screens with This Time Next Year on Channel 9 in the coming months.
There's no denying the first run-in with an ex can be all kinds of awkward.
But bumping into an ex you married on television on the red carpet of the Logies? Sounds like straight-up torture.
Just ask MAFS' Mike Gunner.
The controversial contestant told Daily Mail Australia that when he bumped into Heidi Latcham yesterday, she - understandably - wasn't thrilled to see him.
It sounded like he got quite the frosty reception.
"I went to give her a hug and say hello, but she backed away and told me not to come near her. Talk about awkward. It's going to be a long night for this guy."
Well.
We guess that's another reason not to go on MAFS then.
No woman should feel uncomfortable sporting a bikini, yet Georgia Love has detailed the moment she permanently swapped bikinis for one pieces after being photographed by paparazzi without consent.
In an article for whimn, the former Bachelorette explained that after her season of The Bachelorette a photograph of her in a bikini was placed on the cover of a magazine, alongside images of other women in bikinis - with the key difference being the other women consented to being photographed.
Much to her distaste, the publication used her quote “I’m happy with how I look” completely out of context, insinuating she shouldn't be happy with her appearance.
"The caption alongside my photo was a quote I’d given months earlier, obviously unrelated to this pic, saying 'I’m happy with how I look'. The inference was that I should not be," she wrote for the publication.
"Since that day, I have only — and I mean ONLY — worn one-piece bathers in public or very high waisted bikinis even when I’m in my own backyard. All my normal bikinis went in the bin. That picture alongside that caption made me feel horrendous. I am a confident person but for the first time in my life I truly felt fat, horrible and shamed. Not ashamed. But shamed," she wrote.
She explained that while she has a thick skin, the commentary and implications of the image struck a chord inside her, because she already believed it to be true.
"No one should ever let you feel like you can’t or shouldn’t wear anything or look a certain way. And the very last person who you should let do so is yourself," she wrote.
Waleed Aly is known for his confidence and self-assurance.
But behind the facade, things are not always so easy.
Speaking to GQ, The Project host explained that after he won the Gold Logie in 2016 he entered what he called the "darkest period of [his] life".
"Behind the scenes I was completely knackered, not having a breakdown… broken," he told GQ.
"I mean the kerfuffle when I won the Logie was so weird. It wasn’t like I’d rigged an election, yet many people perceived it to be this monstrous injustice. It’s a Trump move – paint me as a fraud and that allows some people to set a narrative and survive a moment where I succeed," he added.
The 40-year-old added that he often suffers from imposter syndrome in the media, and finds comfort in academia.
"I still definitely feel like an outsider in TV," he told the publication.
"I suffer from 'imposter syndrome' where I feel like I’m doing someone else’s job. I honestly feel my personality is wrong for this work. Law and academia still feel like more natural fits," he added.
Last night Waleed Aly was nominated for the Gold Logie for the second time, but it was Tom Gleeson who took away the win.
GOSSIP PLS.
If you didn’t get a chance to watch the Logies last night, or were sort of half watching it while folding the washing and shouting at family members to clean up their goddamn mess, then there are some very important things you might have missed.
And, yes. One of them involves Delta Goodrem.
Lucky for you, we are journalists. Professional ones. So we identified some awkward moments that the untrained eye could have overlooked.
Ahem.
Check out the details you missed in our earlier post here.
