Karl’s $20 million split from wife will ‘turn ugly’, says friend

A FRIEND of Karl Stefanovic’s estranged wife Cassandra says he’s now very different to the man she married.

KARL Stefanovic’s 21-year marriage to Cassandra Thorburn fell apart as the breakfast TV host’s ego spiralled out of control, an unnamed friend of Thorburn has alleged.

“The Karl she fell in love with is very different from who Karl is today,” the friend told Woman’s Day in an interview published today.

“Back then, he was just a country kid with barely a cent to rub. Now he’s a huge star with an ego to match, and that’s not easy to live with,” the friend continued.

The friend alleged that, while Thorburn will cope well after the settlement of the split, Stefanovic would be “lost without her”.

The separation will “turn ugly and Cass will take him [Karl] to the cleaners,” the friend predicted.

Happier times: The pair at the 2011 Logies.

Woman’s Day claim Thorburn has asked to retain the pair’s $7 million North Shore home, as well as a cut of her husband’s rumoured $3 million per year salary over a number of years — a settlement that could come to as much as $20 million.

Stefanovic appeared to make a sly crack about his financial situation with Thorburn while co-host Lisa Wilkinson was introducing a story on Today earlier this month.

“How much do you think your partner is worth?” asked viewers, before Karl chimed in: “Heaps,” he said, a smirk on his face.

The claims come after Thorburn last week broke her silence about the much-publicised split, first penning a tirade on Facebook where she opened up about the toll that Stefanovic’s job had on her and their children.

“Apparently Today Show finally won a year,” she said.

“This took a huge toll on my family and I, and I’m congratulating myself today for all the effort that went into making that happen.”

Thorburn has broken her silence about the split in recent days. Picture: Diimex

Several days later, Thorburn penned an open letter published on Popsugar in response to an opinion piece written by news.com.au contributor Angela Mollard, about why women should never give up their jobs after having children.

Thorburn explained in her response, that while she is well aware of how “competitive” and the “pressures” of work can be on working women, that’s no reason to make stay at home mothers feel like they had made the wrong decision.

“What I don’t get is why, in my experience, you also feel you’re in competition with us, the stay-at-home mums who made a different decision than you. Not a better or worse decision, just the right decision for us and a different one to you.”

Stefanovic has always praised his wife for giving up her career to take care of their three children, Jackson, Ava and River.

Stefanovic has made only the most fleeting of references to the pair’s split on Today.

Ms Thorburn, who met Stefanovic in the ’90s while she was working at the ABC in Queensland, decided along with her husband to stay at home with the kids so he could push ahead with his career as a journalist.

“We made a decision that is different to yours,” she wrote.

“It doesn’t mean, as I’ve realised some people think, that I’m watching daytime soaps all day. I help at the school canteen weekly because I know many working mums can’t. I’m home, so I do it for you and for my children. I volunteer at the uniform shop, again because I can and working mums can’t. I do these things to give back to the community I live in, because I can.”