Jackson Thorburn has spoken about his parents Karl Stefanovic and Cassandra Thorburn’s divorce in a new interview.
The 19-year-old, who changed his Instagram handle to his mother’s surname last year, told Woman’s Day magazine that the breakdown of their marriage in 2016 has changed his perception of both of them.
Speaking about Karl’s decision to separate from Cassandra after 21 years together, Jackson was pragmatic.
“What’s done is done.
“Despite what happened, he’s still my dad.”
But Jackson was more expressive about his mother.
“My mother is the most extraordinary person, and what she has weathered in these past few years, no one deserves the backlash,” he said.
Explaining how “incredibly destructive” the public aftermath of the separation was, Jackson added he could see his mum suffering.
“Someone had to step up to protect her, and I knew that person was me.”
Of Cassandra’s decision to join the cast of Dancing With the Stars, Jackson was supportive, if somewhat concerned about his mum’s dancing abilities.
“I was brutally honest with her, but it actually made her more determined!” he said.
Jackson also spoke glowingly about his maternal grandfather, the late Max Thorburn, describing him as “a man of integrity.”
He added, “While I may be a Stefanovic, I’m so proud of my Thorburn genes.”
Cassandra expressed thanks for the interview on her Instagram on Monday, posting a photo of her with Jackson with the caption, “How blessed am I to be loved and respected by this incredible young man?”
Jackson was equally effusive about his mum in the interview, calling her “the world’s best mother”, and leaving the reader with no doubt with which parent the majority of his admiration lies.
It’s not the first time that Jackson has spoken publicly about his father since the separation. In December 2018, after he had travelled to Mexico for his father’s wedding to 34-year-old shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough, with his siblings Ava, 13, and River, 12, Jackson told the Daily Mail that the event was “sh*t.”
“My brother and sister didn’t want to go, and I was not going to leave them on their own so I looked after them,” he said.
“I figure at their age they may not have an understanding of watching a parent get re-married… it’s just a parent moving on.”
Defending himself against the accusation that he and his girlfriend were too drunk to stay at the wedding, Jackson offered his own explanation for his early exit: “We left because it was sh*t.”
What do you think of Jackson’s perspective? Tell us in the comments below.
Top Comments
What on earth do they all hope to achieve from these sanctioned articles? Showing to the world that your eldest kid has chosen a side in the divorce of his parents. How does that improve your family dynamics? How does that help at all? How is the support of his mother any different if it occurs in private, without media coverage? It all seems terribly sad and awful that they are willingly parading their family rifts for public consumption.
And what about Cass wanting to be known for herself rather than as Karl’s ex-wife? Isn’t that why she went in Dancing With The Stars? It’s hard to believe she’s serious about being her own woman when she keeps doing interviews like this.
She's hit a new low now, though - involving the kids in her public spat. It brings absolutely nothing positive to the divorce and co-parenting situation - or to the children's ongoing relationship with their father - to make this public.
Beats me, I'm NFI on this whole deal or why anyone even cares ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
People love watching a train wreck. And she appears intent on giving the public what they want. Seriously, it's just sad now. At least before it was just the wife slagging off the ex, without dragging the kids directly into the fray.