After months of speculation and half-truths from ‘close’ sources, 42-year-old TODAY Show host Karl Stefanovic and his new partner, 33-year-old shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough, have made their first public appearances as a couple. And a lot of people have a lot to say about it.
Like anyone with an iPhone and a half decent WiFi connection, I feel I have a fairly solid grasp on the couple’s past week. On Monday, they put on an “amorous” front row display at Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week – their official debut as a couple and a subsequent feeding frenzy for paparazzi.
On Wednesday night they appeared “happy and relaxed” on a romantic solo date in Mosman. Come Thursday, Jasmine took herself to the hairdressers and “smitten” Karl dutifully followed – the most concrete confirmation to date that things must be serious.

To round out the week, the pair enjoyed a “lavish” champagne-filled lunch in Barangaroo. And how did they get to said lunch, you ask? They don’t catch Ubers like the rest of us, they travel exclusively via “romantic stroll”.
On the whole, it was a glamorous, carefree week. From what I can tell, marriage break-ups seem like a piece of cake!
On the flipside, we’ve seen Karl’s ex-wife of 21-years, Cassandra Thorburn, 44, perpetually snapped bare-faced in exercise gear either getting their children to school, at the supermarket or directing removalist trucks as she packs up the family home. In stark contrast to Karl’s glittering bounce-back, Cass is framed as the downtrodden ex-wife, the mother-of-three children anchored to the home, keeping up with the daily grind while her ex pivots effortlessly into post-married life. There are no pictures of carefree Cass or fabulous Cass. At best, we’ve seen her share a dart with a friend on the beach looking ”stressed out” – and it wasn’t flattering.
As Meshel Laurie put it on Friday – all we’ve seen is Cass “doing the life”.
And therein lies the problem with the way the media frames high-profile break-ups. After a separation, the man’s currency is upgraded to eligible bachelor status and the woman gets to play ‘the one who had him for a while’. In some cases, this woman is seen ‘shocking onlookers with her slender frame’ or ‘flaunting her new curves’. Which is code for getting fat after binge eating her feelings. She spends most days “stepping out” in various states of distress. ‘Close sources’ say she’s ‘devastated’ by the split and ‘didn’t see it coming’.
