‘I was never a Mrs Stefanovic’: Cass Thorburn embraces life after Karl

Former journalist Cass Thorburn said she is ready for a “fresh start” following her marriage to Karl Stefanovic as she prepares to kick up her heels in this year’s season of Dancing with the Stars.

The 47-year-old, who was married to Karl for 21 years, told The Saturday Telegraph she is ready to embrace the year with full force after an eventful 2018.

While she and Karl have been separated since 2016, last year her former husband married his new partner Jasmin Yarbrough in Mexico. While Cass and her three children didn’t attend the wedding, the kids did travel over to Mexico at the same time as the ceremony.

With all of that behind her, the mother-of-three explained Dancing with the Stars is a great opportunity to move forward.

“It is a fresh start to a new year and a great outlook,” she told The Saturday Telegraph. “What I can control is this situation. I can control being able to present myself as me.”

Cass said she also hopes taking part in the show will give Australians the chance to see her in a different light.

“There’s the Cass that people think of as the former Mrs Stefanovic,” she added. “I was never a Mrs Stefanovic. I have always been Cass Thorburn.

“That was how I was perceived and rightly I guess if you are in a relationship for a very long time you are perceived in a certain way.”

The mum recently revealed it was her late father who convinced her to give Dancing with the Stars a go before he passed away. She said it was one of the last conversations she had with her dad before he passed away.

Australia, meet your first Dancing With The Stars 2019 contestants… Samuel Johnson, Sir Curtly Ambrose and Cassandra Thorburn! https://t.co/oU8UdMUZBK

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) January 23, 2019

“It had been offered to me and at first I thought, no that’s crazy. I couldn’t possibly do that,” she explained. “If you don’t do something, an opportunity that you never thought would come up and if you said no … you will regret it one day.

“And I thought ‘OK so let’s go for it’.”

Read more: ‘One of our last chats’: Cassandra Thorburn’s late dad talked her into DWTS

Cass also revealed her excitement at the prospect of learning a brand new skill on the show, adding: “Every girl would love to learn to dance

Will you be watching Dancing with the Stars?