Ben Fordham has come to the defence of TV mate Karl Stefanovic, on leave after divorce finalised
TEMPORARY Today co-host Ben Fordham has called for people to lay off Karl Stefanovic after the embattled TV star’s divorce was finalised.
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KARL Stefanovic’s best mate and temporary Today show replacement Ben Fordham has come to the defence of the embattled TV star, “because his family is going through a tough time.”
Fordham had to clarify why he was sitting in for Stefanovic, after he told his Instagram followers Karl was taking a “well earned break” — only for Lisa Wilkinson to then tell viewers her co-host was “on assignment.”
The confusion over his absence on-air comes as Stefanovic’s divorce from wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn is understood to have been finalised last week, with his ex and their three children due to move out of the former family home in Lindfield within days.
Thorburn, who did not return calls yesterday, and the couple’s three children — Jackson, 17, Ava, 11 and River, 10 — are believed to be just days away from moving out of the family’s long-time home in Lindfield.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home was sold for $3.8 million last November, less than two months after their separation was made public; with the new owners allowing the Stefanovics to stay until the middle of April.
When asked about the mixed messages over Stefanovic’s leave, a Nine spokeswoman told News Corp “Karl is away for the week for work and holiday, then Lisa will be off on holidays for a week from this Friday.”
But Fordham, one of Karl’s closest friends and industry colleagues said his hardworking mate “deserves a break.”
“Quite frankly, waking up at 3.30am for 10 years straight, as well as travelling the world for 60 Minutes and every other project Nine throws at him, I think he deserves a break. Knowing Karl, he might be working while he’s away [from the Today show] ... he’s a workaholic.”
Fordham said: “any questioning of his work ethic is completely ridiculous because work never ends for Karl. I wish people would leave him alone because his family is going through a tough time and he’s still showing up for work at 5.30 every day. He deserves a break from the alarm clock and when he has one he often ends up on assignment for 60 Minutes anyway. Give the bloke a break.”
Nine insiders also laughed off recycled rumours Stefanovic was challenging Tracy Grimshaw for the hosting role of A Current Affair, published again this week in New Idea magazine (affiliated with Channel 7).
Stefanovic is said to have been feeling the strain from his high-profile split last September, and paparazzi interest in his new relationship with fashion entrepreneur girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough.
Yarbrough, who runs her shoe label Mara & Mine out of Los Angeles, was controversially uninvited to Peter Stefanovic’s wedding to Karl’s Today Show colleague Sylvia Jeffreys.
While Karl was part of his brother’s bridal party, sources close to the TV star said he was deeply hurt by the decision to exclude Yarbrough from the family affair.
Originally published as Ben Fordham has come to the defence of TV mate Karl Stefanovic, on leave after divorce finalised
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