Karl Stefanovic has finally broken his silence following his split from wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn.
In a candid new interview with The Herald Sun the popular TV personality revealed that when it comes to his role as a husband, and as a father, he is not without regret.
He said, “For me personally I would definitely have failures in a husband sense and hope that I can rectify my failures as a Dad.”
“I hope I can try and rebuild whatever has happened in the past and try and make the most of what I can do with them in the future.”
While the 42-year-old Today co-host continued to skirt around the true reasons for the pair’s split – which is said to have blindsided his wife, Cass – he did reveal that his top priority for the year ahead would be his children.
Karl and Cassandra share three children together Jackson, 16, Ava, 11, and 10-year-old River.
“It’s not their fault. For me I just want to be there for my kids as much as I can.”
“It’s not easy on anyone and the priority has to be on the children in any situation.”
“For me the only issue was the burden of paparazzi around my family in the initial months. That is regrettable, that is hard to explain to a kid and I think it is awful for kids.”
Karl and Cassandra were married for 21 years before the shock split.
Karl, who has always spoken highly of his now-estranged wife, said that he continues to think she’s “an amazing woman.” However, he went on to explain that the split had taken its toll on both himself and Cass.
He said, “It’s a real burden emotionally for both people breaking up after a long and successful marriage.”
“Life is life. People make mistakes. People have breakups. People mostly try to do their best and sometimes they fail.”
“I think that we will work through it as best we can.”
In September last year, Karl is said to have left his wife and three kids without warning. The shock split prompted friends to tell The Sunday Telegraph they were “stunned by the separation”.
At the time, Karl reportedly moved out of the family home and took up residence in his friend James Packer’s Bondi apartment.
Woman’s Day previously reported that Cassandra, 45, is in the process of getting her life back on track.
Cassandra was also a top journalist before giving it up to raise a family.
“Last year was the worst year of Cass’s life. She was blindsided by Karl leaving, and discovering how much of his life he had kept secret made her feel like their whole relationship had been a lie,” a close friend revealed.
“But she’s finally happy again. She may never really know what happened – but she’s letting go. Cass is ready to forgive and move on – for the sake of her mental health and for her kids.”
Karl has repeatedly praised Cass through his rise to fame for being instrumental in helping him reach the pinnacles of success.
“She gave up a promising career at the ABC and I’m forever thankful and tremendously appreciative of that,” Karl told the Sunday Herald Sun in 2015.
“Cass wanted to be at home, and wants to be there now, and we’re very lucky to be in a financial position where we can do that.”
“But should she ever want to go back to work, then of course she can.”
Even Karl’s colleague Ben Fordham has previously mentioned how important Cassandra had been in Karl’s career.
“There’s no question that Cass is a crucial ingredient in Karl’s success,” Ben said.
