Jess Rowe opens up about ‘resentment’ towards Karl Stefanovic

Karl Stefanovic’s former Today co-host has spoken candidly in a new podcast about her “bitterness and resentment” towards the Nine star.

Australian broadcaster Jess Rowe makes some surprising revelations in the latest episode of her podcast, speaking candidly about the “bitterness and resentment” she felt for years towards her former TV colleague Karl Stefanovic.

In fact, she says those feelings only dissipated last year, after Stefanovic offered her a public apology.

Rowe had a brief tenure as co-host of the Today show alongside Stefanovic in 2006, before exiting the Nine Network amid dramatic circumstances the following year.

The mum-of-two was sacked from Today after returning from maternity leave – and her departure made headlines at the time when it was alleged then-Nine boss Eddie McGuire had spoken about wanting to “bone” (fire) Rowe during a meeting with Nine execs.

All smiles, but Rowe says now her time on Today was “pretty rocky.” Picture: AAP Image/Nine Network

It was an acrimonious end to her time at the network – and Rowe says she never had an in-depth conversation with her former co-host again.

Until, that is, he agreed to be the first guest on her new podcast, The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, when it launched last year.

It certainly started her new venture with a bang, with Stefanovic fighting back tears as he apologised to Rowe, telling her he wished he’d been a “better co-host” and protected her more.

Now, to mark the podcast’s first birthday, Rowe has given listeners a little more context about how she and Stefanovic finally sat down to speak after so long.

In the latest episode of the podcast, out today, Rowe described her time with Stefanovic on Today as “pretty rocky … and that’s an understatement.”

Karl said he “wished he’d been a better co-host.”

While she praised him for “generously” agreeing to appear on her fledgling podcast, she admitted she‘d approached the interview while still holding on to her own issues.

“From my perspective, there was bitterness and resentment,” she said.

“And I don’t like feeling like that, because it eats you up. They’re such negative emotions. But for me, I found it hard to move past that. There was always this part of me that felt heavy, or I’d look at Karl’s success and there’d be a part of me that would feel jealous and resentful: ‘Hey, why is that happening to you, and it’s not happening to me?’”

She admitted the headspace was “not a good place to be.” Enter Karl …

Jess and Karl’s “nervous” reunion

Jess Rowe sat down with her old co-host in August last year.

Rowe revealed that both she and Stefanovic were visibly nervous when they sat down together last year after so long – her so much so that she was sweating through her “heavy duty deodorant.” She said the conversation was “uncomfortable … but it was open, and raw and honest.”

Rowe’s turning point came during one remarkable moment in the podcast, when an emotional Karl apologised to his former co-host, admitting he’d always felt “terrible” about not helping her more as she was ousted from the network.

“You didn’t have a guy next to you who could have protected you and helped you in the way that I should have, and for that, I’m always sorry,” he told her.

“Part of why I’m here today is to apologise to you. I wish I’d been a better person and a better man and a stronger man, not just for myself, but for you.”

At the time, Rowe fought back tears as she thanked her former colleague for the public apology.

“I feel genuinely sorry. I wasn’t a good host and I certainly wasn’t a great co-host,” he told her.

Jess: Karl’s apology ‘lifted me’

Previous hosts of Channel Nine's 'Today Show', Jessica Rowe and Karl Stefanovic.

One year on from that moment, Rowe told listeners that the apology – which she hadn’t been expecting – had freed her from the lingering resentment she was carrying towards Stefanovic.

“Hearing those words from Karl meant so much to me and I hadn’t expected it to have the impact that it did,” she said.

“It lifted a weight that I’d been carrying. I didn’t mean to be carrying it, but it was there. It was my baggage and I felt lighter after our conversation.”

She told listeners she was “forever grateful” to Stefanovic for his “willingness to be vulnerable.”

“He was open to saying: ‘You know what? If I had my time again, I would’ve done it differently.’”

Listen to The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show on Listnr.