Cassandra Thorburn’s limelight-free life after splitting from Karl Stefanovic

Karl Stefanovic’s ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn has a new job well out of the public eye — and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Cassandra Thorburn’s Aussie show business and media days are behind her — and she is most definitely happy about it.

The ex-wife of Today show breakfast co-host Karl Stefanovic is now working in the aged care sector.
After several turbulent years, Thorburn is comfortably, and happily, living life out of the public eye and has well and truly moved on from her headline magnet ex.

Confidential can reveal Thorburn is now working in sales and support for RSL Life Care in the Greater Sydney Area.

“I am super happy to put all of that behind me,” Thorburn told Confidential when contacted.

Cassandra Thorburn at the Women in Law and Business Launch Lunch in 2020. Picture: Adam Yip

The mother of three has worked in the not-for-profit sector since 2017, with the exception of stints in office management and assisting at a dentist.

Her NGO work has included working with homeless youth, and during Covid she was employed as a carer for the elderly.

Cassandra and Karl Stefanovic at the 2011 Logies.

Karl married Jasmine in 2018. Picture: Supplied

She was a contestant on Dancing With The Stars in 2019 and a regular on Channel 10’s now-defunct breakfast show, Studio 10. She also co-hosted a podcast called Divorce Story with Annaliese Dent.

“During Covid I became a carer for the elderly and this kind of aligned with my wanting to work in the aged care sector,” she said.

“The aged care sector is one that has a lot of good people working in it but there is a lot of work that needs to be done to allow aged people to live their best lives.”

Thorburn and Stefanovic separated in 2016 after 21 years of marriage. She famously gave up her budding career as a journalist and television producer to support their young family.

Thorburn loves working in the not-for-profit sector. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

In his now-infamous 2011 Logies speech, in which Stefanovic won both the Most Popular Presenter and Gold Logie, he thanked Thorburn for “giving up everything”.

“My beautiful wife Cass, who lets me go on these weird and wonderful excursions around the world … a great influence in my life,” he said at the time.

“And she’s also got the best arse I’ve ever seen.

“She had a promising career of her own with the ABC and she gave up everything for me and she gave up everything to raise our beautiful three kids so this is … as much yours as it is mine.”

Stefanovic meanwhile wed now-wife-of-five-years Jasmine in Mexico in 2018. The couple have a daughter together, Harper, while he and Thorburn are parents to Jackson, Willow, and River.

Steinfort’s cuts rent on Sydney home

Tom Steinfort, the newly appointed Nine News Melbourne co-presenter, and his wife Claudia Jukic have listed their Bondi home for rent. It’s already had a price reduction, having garnered around 500 page views on realestate.com.au in three weeks.

The renovated three-bedroom property is now available at $1600 a week, having initially been offered at $1800 a week through Raine & Horne.

Tom Steinfort and wife Claudia Jukic. Picture: Christian Gilles

The median three-bedroom Bondi rental is $1500 according to PropTrack, down slightly on its recent $1550 peak, with a limited offering of just 26 three-bedroom houses over the past year.

The rental marketing images show the family set-up following the birth last month of their second daughter, Lotte, sister to two-year-old Freddie, who has her own bedroom.

The couple paid $2,712,000 for the original condition 1920s Bondi semi when it was offered to the market for the first time in 70 years in 2021.

Steinfort did much of the renovation of the classic single-level Federation home between assignments for 60 Minutes.

It includes a new dining kitchen and bathroom.

He is now reading the 6pm weeknight news in Melbourne with Alicia Loxley after the relegation of veteran newsreader Peter Hitchener.

The duo lost their on-air debut against Seven’s Rebecca Maddern and Mike Amor, but have since won almost all nights, amid Nine’s Australian Open tennis coverage.

Talent pool is swimming in success

Nothing says Sydney summer quite like a well-cut bikini and a Bondi tan, and with the global swimwear market projected to reach a value of $30.9bn by 2032, Australian designers are riding the wave.

The once-seasonal fashion item has made multi-millionaires of designers, social media influencers, and savvy 20-somethings — with Tash Oakley converting her @abikiniaday blog into the estimated $63m Monday swimwear empire.

Or Sydney University student Tara Jane, who took TJ Swim from a side-hustle operated out of her parents’ laundry to $3m business in just three years.

Cameron Gaw (left) and Hailey Prats model Dawn Marie swimwear at Milk Beach in Vaucluse. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Customer service worker Dawn Aitoa told The Daily Telegraph she had full confidence in both the local and international appetite for New Australian swimwear.

“I could see a gap in the market that wasn’t being addressed, so I decided to do it myself,” she said.

The 30-year-old quit her job of four years to rival former bosses with her own brand, Dawn Marie, which she’s gearing up to launch at a glitzy King Street Wharf party next Friday.

“Working in fashion customer service for four years was very insightful as to what women did and didn’t want,” the Sans Souci local said.

“A main concern that I heard day in and day out was that styles weren’t supportive enough, didn’t give enough coverage and weren’t super adjustable for their busts.”

She is positioning her label as eco-friendly luxury.

“I took all of this feedback on board when I decided to make all of my pieces individually tailored,” Aitoa said.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra told The Daily Telegraph the luxury swim market — where a brand like Zimmermann sells its suits priced above $300 — was holding firm in the current economy.

“With summer upon us, we expect trading to pick up for the warmer months,” Zahra said.