Karl Stefanovic’s mother Jenny has reached out to his son Jackson after the Today show’s ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn claimed his family have ‘practically no contact’ with their three children.
During an interview with The Australian’s Women’s Weekly earlier this month, Cassandra, 47, claimed his family and friends ‘discarded and disposed of’ their children in the wake of her split from the TV star.
Following Cassandra’s comments, Jenny posted an Instagram birthday tribute to her grandchild, Jackson, as he turned 19, on Tuesday.
‘I really hope the universe is able to get you to see our wishes’: Karl Stefanovic’s mother Jenny has reached out to Karl’s eldest son Jackson (pictured here) after Cassandra Thorburn claimed Today show host’s family had ‘practically no contact’ with their children following split
Alongside a picture of a birthday card, Jenny wrote: ‘Happy 19th birthday Jackson.’
‘l hope you have a great day celebrating while overseas. I really hope the universe is able to get you see my/our wishes. Love you heaps Jackson. Little nanny.’
In a second comment, she directly tagged the teenager – who is yet to respond.
In a statement to TheFix last week, a spokesperson for the Stefanovic family said they are disappointed by Cassandra’s recent claims in the magazine.
Hitting back? Following Cassandra’s comments, Jenny posted an Instagram birthday tribute to her grandchild, Jackson, as he turned 19 on Tuesday
‘l hope you have a great day celebrating while overseas. I really hope the universe is able to get you see my/our wishes. Love you heaps Jackson. Little nanny,’ Jenny gushed online
‘We are disappointed Cass would claim such inflammatory suggestions that we have alienated Karl’s children from our family,’ the statement read.
‘Nothing could be further from the truth. Karl regularly co parents his children and has his loving family around them.’
They added: ‘We refuse to keep a running dialogue of the children. There are custody and financial matters before the Family Court and Karl has abided by every single one of them and we will not jeopardise it. Family is often compromised when parents go through a painful divorce and we do our best to continue our love and support for the children.’
The statement was in response to Cassandra’s allegations that Karl’s friends and family are barely in contact following their split.
‘Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,’ the mother-of-three said.
Family matters: In a second comment, she directly tagged the teenager – who is yet to respond
‘We’ve been discarded and disposed of’: Earlier this month, Cassandra claimed Karl’s family and friends have had ‘practically no contact’ with her and the couple’s children since their split
‘The flip-side of that is I feel like we’re dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life,’ she claimed.
Cassandra went on to allege: ‘There has been practically no contact. I feel like we’ve been discarded and disposed of, replaced by a whole new line-up of starters.’
The brunette sat down with the magazine for the feature to commemorate the two year anniversary since her split from Karl.
‘Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me’: In the tell-all, Cassandra expressed that she’d found happiness after the split, but was still frustrated by the distance between the pair
Karl announced his split from former wife Cassandra, an accomplished journalist and TV producer, in September 2016 after 21 years of marriage.
The Channel Nine personality met model-turned-shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough in December 2016. They became engaged in January 2018.
In April 2017, reports emerged that Karl’s three children Jackson, 19, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River weren’t in attendance at the wedding of Karl’s brother Peter and Sylvia Jeffreys.
New relationship: The Channel Nine personality met model-turned-shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough in December 2016. They became engaged in January 2018
At the time, a family friend reportedly spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald claiming the children were ‘upset’ to have missed their uncle’s wedding.
The children’s lack of presence appears to be unusual for the Stefanovic family, after both Ava and River were present at their other uncle Tom’s wedding.
The youngsters had served as flower girl and page boy at the event in August 2015, as he married long-term love Jenna Dinicola in Griffith.
No-show? In April 2017, reports emerged that Karl’s three children Jackson, 18, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River weren’t in attendance at the wedding of Karl’s brother Peter and Sylvia Jeffreys
In March 2018, Karl and Jasmine celebrated their relationship with a commitment ceremony.
An insider told Daily Mail Australia at the time that Karl’s three children did not attend the ceremony but that Ava and River did show up for the celebrations afterwards.
Woman’s Day also reported that Ava and River were confused and upset after finding out about the commitment ceremony just three hours beforehand.
Karl and Cassandra’s eldest child Jackson did not attend.
Commitment ceremony: An insider told Daily Mail Australia at the time that Karl’s three children did not attend Karl and Jasmine’s commitment ceremony in March 2018
In October last year, Cassandra broke her silence after the breakdown of her marriage in a candid interview with Woman’s Day, in which she declared that Karl was ‘dead’ to her.
‘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 at the time.
‘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.’
‘I was completely gazumped when I realised Karl had gone’: In October last year, Cassandra broke her silence after the breakdown of her marriage in a candid interview with Woman’s Day