Inside Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough’s incredible love story

Today Show host Karl Stefanovic, 44, and Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, will tie the knot in a star-studded wedding in Mexico on Saturday. 

And as guests prepare to watch the lovebirds exchange ‘I dos’, Karl and Jasmine’s incredible love story has been brought to light.

The Channel Nine host met the Mara and Mine shoe designer on a luxury boat cruise in Sydney in 2016.  

Karl had recently split with the wife of his three children Cassandra Thorburn, while Jasmine was based in Los Angeles running a fledgling design business. 

The Today Show host was wary of starting a new relationship, given that his 21-year marriage had just ended.

His separation from Cassandra garnered lots of public scrutiny and as a result, the father-of-three took a two-month sabbatical at the time. 

Karl and Jasmine’s romance 

As Karl’s romance with Jasmine began to blossom after going public in 2017, ratings at the Today show began to decline.

By February 2017, ratings for Karl and then co-host Lisa Wilkinson continued to drop every week day across the five-city metro rating figures.  

Karl and Jasmine enjoyed a relatively low-profile, however, by June they began to consistently make headlines.

Ratings decline: By February 2017, ratings for Karl and then co-host Lisa Wilkinson continued to drop every week day across the five-city metro rating figures 

Karl and Jasmine’s romance was splashed across the newspapers that month, as the couple was spotted on James Packer’s yacht in Bora Bora. 

Photographs surfaced of a bikini-clad Jasmine riding a jet around the billionaire’s super yacht with Karl. 

It was around this time that Jasmine revealed to News Corp that it was difficult to deal with the growing ‘attention’, adding that ‘no one expects it or prepares you for it.’ 

High-profile split: His 2016 separation from Cassandra Thorburn (left) garnered lots of public scrutiny and as a result, the father-of-three took a two-month sabbatical at the time. Pictured Karl and Cassandra in Melbourne on May 1, 2011

Jasmine moves back to Sydney 

Brisbane-born Jasmine moved to Sydney in October last year, after she was spotted frolicking on-board James Packer’s yacht on a romantic holiday with Karl.

Karl continued to battle the ratings war with Channel Seven rival Sunrise as Jasmine prepared to leave her life in Los Angeles.

Taking to her Instagram at the time, Jasmine let friends and family know of her moving plans with a shot at the poolside at the Los Angeles landmark.

‘LA, you will always be in my heart,’ Jasmine wrote of the sentimental snap of herself with two gal pals at the ritzy hotel.      

Jasmine’s friends confirmed her move back to Australia, with one friend commenting on the photo: ‘The Beverly Hills Hotel just lost their best customer.’

‘Sad sad day!!!! I’ll miss you,’ another penned, while a third noted: ‘So many memories. Keep Sydney warm for me. Xx.’

Moving home: Brisbane-born Jasmine moved to Sydney in October last year, after she was spotted frolicking on-board James Packer’s yacht on a romantic holiday with Karl. Pictured in Sydney on 13 October 2017

Born in Queensland, Jasmine down played her move back Down Under and said it was something that was always on the cards for her and business partner Tami Ingham. 

‘I think eventually, Tami, my business partner and I have always planned to do that,’ Jasmine told The Daily Telegraph at the time.  

Prior to Jasmine’s arrival, Karl had reportedly given up his $1980-a-week bachelor pad for the slender beauty. 

The breakfast star moved into a $7million five-bedroom home in North Sydney, which awaited Jasmine.     

Engagement

With Jasmine back in Australia, Karl showed how serious the couple were by spending Christmas in Jasmine’s native Brisbane. 

The Channel Nine star hit back at criticism he had moved on too quickly from Cassandra, telling Stellar magazine he did not expect to fall in love so soon.   

‘I certainly did not expect to meet someone five months after I broke up with my wife,’ he said. 

Engagement: In February, Karl proposed to Jasmine and they began planning their wedding

‘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.’ 

In February, Karl confirmed he had dropped to one knee for Jasmine with the couple planning on getting married. 

‘We are yet to work out when we will get married, but probably later this year. We are both very happy,’ Karl told The Fix in February. 

The engagement ring was made by upmarket Sydney jeweller Nic Cerrone, and reportedly cost $100,000, which later Karl denied. 

Commitment ceremony 

Jasmine and Karl made the surprising decision to have a commitment ceremony in March at a mansion in Sydney. 

The ‘wedding’ took place in the lush garden of a mansion in Palm Beach on March 10, with Jasmine looking every inch the glamorous Sydneysider.

Karl later confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that it was a commitment ceremony.    

‘We are very much in love. We clicked right from the start’: Jasmine and Karl made the surprising decision to have a commitment ceremony in March at a mansion in Sydney

‘We are very much in love. We clicked right from the start,’ he told the publication.   

‘It’s a commitment ceremony. It was lovely.’  

Karl’s youngest children, Ava, 13, and River, 11, attended the ceremony, however, reports suggested the Channel 9 journalist’s eldest son Jackson, 19, was not present.

The wedding  

Preparation: Karl and Jasmine looked every inch the smitten lovebirds during their pre-wedding welcome with guests in Mexico (above) on Thursday

Karl and Jasmine will now tie-the-knot together in a lavish ceremony on Saturday, with the couple choosing the lavish One & Only Pamilla resort in Mexico. 

On Friday, the couple enjoyed a wedding rehearsal dinner at the exclusive resort, which features a Mexican-style chapel. 

Jasmine donned an elegant silk dress by UK designer Galvan, worth around $1400 for the couple’s rehearsal dinner on December 8. 

The pair are due to get married at 6pm.  

Star-studded ceremony: Celebrity guests include Today show entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, son Christian (pictured) along with brother Peter Stefanovic and wife, Sylvia Jeffreys

The pair have booked two villas  – one priced at $11,600 per night, and another at $15,000 per night – for the three-day celebration.

It is only accessible by a private yacht or plane and has hosted the likes of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Lucille Ball and former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Celebrity guests include Today show entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, son Christian, along with brother Peter Stefanovic and wife, Sylvia Jeffreys.    

Countdown is on! Karl and Jasmine will now tie-the-knot together in a lavish ceremony on Saturday, with the couple choosing the lavish One & Only Pamilla resort in Mexico