Cassandra Thorburn opens up on ‘stressful’ divorce from Karl Stefanovic

There are some things in life that are just never easy, and anyone who has been through the often painful process would agree that divorce is one of those things. The situation is no doubt made all the worse if you are the wife of a popular public figure, as the details of your relationship breakdown are splashed across the headlines.

This is the situation that journalist Cassandra Thorburn found herself in more than three years ago when her marriage to Today show host Karl Stefanovic suddenly came to an end after 21 years together.

The couple, who share children Jackson, 20, Ava, 14, and River, 12, finalised their divorce in 2017, and Cassandra has remained relatively tight-lipped about what went on between them at the time. Now though, Dancing With the Stars alum Cassandra has opened up about the “grieving process” she went through.

Speaking on the first episode of her brand new weekly podcast Divorce Story, which she co-hosts with broadcaster Annaliese Dent , the 49-year-old admitted she is “over” Karl and revealed how she suddenly found herself a “single, stay at home mum” when her marriage ended suddenly.

“People often say, are you over them? Yes I’m over them. I’m over my ex-husband. But it’s about going through the grief of going through a divorce,” she told psychologist Jacqui Manning.

“Going through a divorce is really stressful, so that’s something to grieve – you’re grieving the process of what you’ve gone through. My dad passed away not long after my divorce. That then adds to your grief.”

Cassandra has previously spoken on few occasions about her feelings towards the father of her children, telling Women’s Day in 2017 that the 45-year-old Channel Nine star was “dead to her”.

“The children still have a father but I don’t have a husband,” she told the publication. “He really is dead to me and no, we won’t ever be friends again.”

Karl has since remarried and is expecting a baby with his second wife, fashion designer Jasmine Yarbrough. The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Mexico in December 2018.

The couple are set to welcome a daughter later this year and Karl said his wife, 34, is “glowing”. Speaking to 9Honey recently, Karl said: “Jasmine looks so beautiful and is handling pregnancy in such an incredible way. Our whole family can’t wait to meet our little princess.”