Karl Stefanovic opens up ahead of wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough

Karl Stefanovic says his upcoming wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough marks the time to put controversy behind him, declaring he is ready to move on from the repeated “s--- canning” he has endured from his critics.

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Karl Stefanovic says his upcoming wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough marks the time to put controversy behind him, declaring he is ready to move on from the repeated “s--- canning” he has endured from his critics.

The Today Show host has had a tumultuous year, from taking ratings hits to dealing with the fall out from “Uber-gate” after his private conversation with brother Peter was overheard by an Uber driver and sold to a magazine, forcing the pair to apologise to their Nine bosses and colleagues.

Karl Stefanovic relaxes in Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

But, speaking candidly to The Sunday Mail, the 44-year-old said he wasn’t bothered by the opinions of others and was looking forward to the day when the intense scrutiny of his every move – including his relationship with the 34-year-old Brisbane designer – stopped.

“We’re going to get on with life and we’re going to get on with work,” he said.

“Nothing much worries me and I’ve done nothing wrong – I haven’t broken the law, I haven’t robbed a bank, I haven’t committed some sought of heinous fraud against the government. I’m just a guy from Queensland who has gone through some stuff and I’m looking forward to there being no dialogue about it.”

Stefanovic is set to wed Mara & Mine shoe designer Yarbrough on December 8 in a lavish ceremony in Mexico, admitting his excitement about the nuptials is likely to kick in on the plane to Los Cabos when his hectic work schedule wraps up.

He revealed the Queensland pair will include a number of nods to the Sunshine State when they said “I do”.

“I’m marrying a Queensland girl, there is going to be a few Queensland elements to the wedding ... it’s a really important thing for us,” he said.

“There’s going to be a lot of love in the room and I think it will be a really nice opportunity to say ‘thanks and we’re getting on with it’.

Karl Stefanovic pumps iron to get back in shape (Instagram picture)

Jasmine Yarbrough prepares for her pre-wedding high tea with father Bob. (Instagram picture)

“Most importantly, Jas and I, no matter what people have said in the past, we’re very fortunate to have met each other and we just want to focus on getting on with life ... people can write a million stories about it, people can talk about it as much as they want but Jas and I are just going to be getting on with life.”

Stefanovic, who separated from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn, in 2016 and finalised the divorce last year, said he refused to reflect on 2018 in a negative way.

“I’m not one of those people that goes ‘oh, what a s--t year’, it’s not in my dialogue because every year is interesting and every year throws up different obstacles and every year throws up great successes in their own way, either personally or professionally,” he said.

“People can have their own running dialogue about how successful things have been or how bad things have been but I am just focused on moving forward to the next year and trying to get better.”

Stefanovic, who shares three children - sons Jackson and River and daughter Ava - with Thorburn, recently celebrated his bucks party on the Sunshine Coast while Yarbrough held her hens high tea in Brisbane.

He told The Sunday Mail Queensland would also play an important part in the couple’s post-wedding celebrations, with the pair set to holiday in the Sunshine State over the Christmas-New Year period after returning from overseas.

“We’ve got to go see my mum up in Cairns, which is going to be hot, and we’ve got other family in Queensland so we’re just going to be hanging around which is going to be so nice,” he said.

“As I get older, the more I like it (being home in Queensland), the more I like getting out of Sydney and Melbourne and just chilling out up here.”

After this week revealing he had been told by doctors to make changes to his physical health, Stefanovic said he was feeling better than ever after taking up clean eating and exercise featuring a mix of cardio and weights every day.

“I feel stronger, fitter, I’m not as tired and I don’t need as much sleep at night,” he said.

“I’m more alert, I’m able to see things a bit clearer, there’s no fog of tiredness – I feel really physically great and for me it’s been a transformation.

“It’s been a hard slog, it’s day in day out, trying to just get healthy, not just lose weight, but get healthy and fit.”

He said his lifestyle change was not due to the upcoming wedding.

“Obviously Jasmine saw me before and was comfortable,” he said, with a laugh.

“I was just putting her to the test by being fat but she passed with flying colours and now I can just get back to normal weight.”

Originally published as Karl Stefanovic opens up ahead of wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough