Celebrity

‘He’d do things differently’: Georgie Gardner on Karl Stefanovic’s downfall

Jan 27, 2019

Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner pictured together in happier times on Today in May, 2018. Source: Instagram/Georgie Gardner

Georgie Garnder has spoken out about her ex Today co-host Karl Stefanovic, giving her opinion on his failed marriage and his sudden departure from the breakfast show.

In a wide-ranging interview with Stellar magazine, Gardner said that if Stefanovic had his time over there are “a few decisions he’d make differently” in regards to his marriage breakdown and said that despite constant reports the pair are at loggerheads, they are actually good friends.

Gardner and Stefanovic’s on-screen relationship got off to a rocky start in the eyes of the media after the Ubergate scandal in which Stefanovic was overheard criticising his new co-host and saying she needed to stop fence-sitting during big discussions on air.

Despite Stefanovic’s harsh words, Gardner told Stellar they worked through it and that she was most upset he hadn’t said it to her face.

“I pride myself on being measured, considering my responses and not shooting from the hip, so to be accused of being a fence-sitter didn’t offend me at all,” she said.

When asked about the media scrutiny placed on Stefanovic’s failed marriage to ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn, Gardner was sympathetic.

“I’m very disappointed that this is the level of scrutiny we now come under,” she said. “Plenty of marriages fail — isn’t it one in three? — but that’s life, we’re all fallible. He [Karl] would be the first to agree that there are a few decisions he’d make differently if he had his time again, but wouldn’t we all?”

She also addressed the reports that Stefanovic had left Thorburn to be with his new wife Jasmine Yarbrough, who at 34 is 10 years Stefanovic’s junior, calling the claims “lies” and insisting the relationship started after he’d left his marriage.

Gardner’s new co-host Deborah Knight comes with much less media baggage, but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the pair who are the first female duo to head up the Nine Network morning program.

There was plenty of backlash online after Nine announced Knight would replace Stefanovic with some viewers feeling the show needed the balance of a both male and female on the desk.

Addressing the controversy around the decision, Gardner said she read some of the feedback early on but chooses to ignore the hateful comments now.

“Some are just nasty and derogatory. ‘Are you going to have segments on tampons next?’ and ‘You must hate men’,” she said. “I’m choosing to put that to one side and focus on all the wonderful positives.”

Despite its groundbreaking format of two female hosts, Today’s new lineup has struggled with ratings since first going to air in January.

The opening show was watched by just 196,652 viewers across the five metropolitan cities — a significant drop from the average working week last year when Stefanovic was at the helm alongside Gardner, with an average of 235,000 viewers tuning in each day at the time.

In contrast, it seems more viewers were tuning in to Sunrise on Channel 7 as hosts David Koch and Samantha Armytage won 266,469 viewers across the five major cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane in the first ratings round of the year.