It was the high-profile marriage split that made headlines across Australia.
And now, Cassandra Thorburn is breaking her silence about how she coped after her marriage to Today host Karl Stefanovic, 43, collapsed after 21 years together.
Speaking to this week’s Woman’s Day magazine, the 46-year-old admitted she ‘was in a very dark place’ after the relationship fell apart but was now feeling stronger than ever.
Breaking her silence: Speaking to this week’s Woman’s Day magazine Cassandra Thorburn (pictured) said she experienced ‘very dark days’ following her split with Today host Karl Stefanovic after 21 years
‘There were days in the beginning I would get up, put on a brave face and drop the kids at school, then I’d get to the back door and I would lie in a heap for the rest of the day unable to move – there were very dark days,’ she told the magazine.
‘I was completely gazumped when I realised Karl had gone.’
The mother-of-three added that she had relied on her friends for support in the wake of the split but there were still elements of her former life she couldn’t bring herself to face – like the former’s couple’s marital bed.
‘I slept on the couch in front of the fire for months because I didn’t want to go near the marital bed. I was in a very dark place,’ Cass confessed.
‘I was completely gazumped when I realised Karl had gone’: Cass also admitted she couldn’t face sleeping in her and Karl’s (left) former marital bed for months
Since the split, Karl was quick to move on and started a relationship with 33-year-old shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough.
Cass shares three children with Karl: Jackson, 18, Ava, 12, and River, 10, and according to the magazine, the kids are yet to meet their father’s new flame despite the couple living just a suburb away.
Likening the break-up to experiencing the death of a family member, Cass also seemed to be in no hurry to establish an amicable friendship with her ex.
‘The children still have a father but I don’t have a husband. He really is dead to me and no, we won’t ever be friends again,’ she said.
New flame: Since the split, Karl has started a relationship with Jasmine Yarbrough (left) but reportedly his three children are yet to meet her
Cass said it was thinking of her kids’ wellbeing that pushed her to move forward with her life.
She recalled that her eldest son Jackson took the marriage breakdown particularly hard, refusing to leave their Lindfield family home for their new $8 million Cremorne mansion.
Instead, he slept on the floor of his former bedroom while his mother and siblings set up in the new home, despite all the furniture being already removed from the family’s former abode.
Despite the turmoil of the relationship breakdown, Cass admitted she was now feeling stronger than ever and was prioritising the happiness of her children above all but was open to meet someone new if the opportunity arose.
‘He really is dead to me’: Cass likened the split to a death in the family and vowed she would never be friends with her ex
On sale now: For more, pick up a copy of this week’s edition of Woman’s Day