celebrity

Karl Stefanovic on rebuilding himself and his "lovely" relationship with Jasmine Yarbrough.

In the last 12 months Karl Stefanovic has been one of the most talked about people in the country.

Speaking exclusively to Stellar this weekend, Stefanovic said he couldn’t believe the breakdown of his marriage to his wife of 22 years, Cassandra Thorburn, and his new relationship with Jasmine Yarbrough, was such big news.

The Today show host said his new-found infamy wasn’t something he expected, it’s taken some time for him to accept it, and he’s learnt a lot from the experience.

“I don’t know where it comes from, I don’t know what drives it; I guess as a public figure you’ve got to roll with it and I’m not as hard done by as many other people out there,” he said.

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“I’ve gone through some personal stuff that’s been difficult on everyone in my family. That has been the hardest aspect: the increased public interest, or coverage, makes it more intense to navigate through. But it isn’t a world event, it’s not a national event, it’s not a community event. I don’t know where to place it. It confuses the hell out of me.”

However, the 42-year-old said the last 10 months have taught him a lot about the Australian media landscape and the role he plays in it. Speaking about his recent experience of calling out media outlets for their treatment of women, and for “stealing content” and “making up stories”, Stefanovic said it was “too much”.

“The way they conduct themselves and the way that they treat women, in particular, has been absolutely shocking. The only way you can stop them is by not clicking on them. I don’t give them the time of day.”

But he understands that he, too, plays a role in this.

“What I will say is that through this experience, I’m much more careful about what I talk about and I’m much more considerate about what I say. I’ve learnt from it.”

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Stefanovic says that although he won’t completely stop covering Hollywood divorces, he will think twice before sharing “salacious details” or “throwaway gags”, because it’s not funny for the people involved.

The TV host also admitted that he’d made mistakes and he’s now trying to be a better person.

“I’m flawed and I’ve made some mistakes and I’m trying to correct those mistakes,” he said.

“I have had some very dark mornings and nights where I’ve felt ashamed and I felt that I’d failed.”

Lisa Wilkinson on marriage, Karl and her latest project. Post continues…

Stefanovic said getting to that point has allowed him to “slowly start to rebuild a little bit of the person [he] wants to become”.

The Today host said he and his new partner, Jasmine Yarbrough, were taking things “really, really slowly”.

“It was unexpected and lovely, but we’re going to try to keep a level of privacy to how we’re going and what we’re planning, especially considering I have three beautiful children who need to be taken into consideration.”

You can read the full Stellar article here.