‘Deeply embarrassed’: Jade Yarbrough breaks silence on Noosa fracas with Michael Clarke

Jade Yarbrough has finally broken her silence on her infamous Noosa park stoush with Michael Clarke – and cleared up one big rumour about their relationship.

It was the fracas that stopped the nation – one of Australia’s most high-profile couples, embroiled in a heated spat at a public Noosa park.

Overnight, Jade Yarbrough found herself at the centre of one of the biggest news stories of the year when footage of the aforementioned argument – between her and then-partner, former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke – was obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

“Noosagate” promptly went viral, sending her and everyone involved (Clarke, Today co-host and Yarbrough’s brother-in-law, Karl Stefanovic, and, inadvertently, P.E Nation co-founder and Clarke’s ex-girlfriend, Pip Edwards) to ground.

Read Jade Yarbrough’s full interview with Stellarhere

Jade Yarbrough for Stellar Magazine. Picture: Holly Ward

At the time, Edwards distanced herself, saying the ugly stoush was not her “circus”; Clarke, meanwhile, declared he was “absolutely gutted” and accepted “full responsibility for this altercation” (for which both he and Yarbrough were fined by Queensland Police, for creating a public nuisance).

Yarbrough, however, kept her head down and stayed quiet – until now. In an interview with Stellar published this morning, the 31-year-old opened up for the first time about her deep embarrassment over the situation – and put rumours she and Clarke have since reunited to bed, once and for all.

Footage of Michael Clarke and Yarbrough in Noosa on January 10. Picture: The Daily Telegraph

The former couple at Louis Vuitton event in Sydney last November. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“There’s no rule book for navigating constant headlines, public life and heartbreak,” Yarbrough, who is the co-founder of interior design firm Merci Maison, told Stellar.

“Relationships can be tough and complicated and most people don’t have theirs splashed on the front page of the paper or dissected on breakfast TV. I felt heartbroken, and deeply embarrassed. I just wanted to hide forever.”

Asked why she thinks there’s been such sustained interest in the altercation, Yarbrough said she “can’t speak for anyone else or know what some people are thinking”.

Yarbrough has broken her silence on her infamous Noosa stoush. Picture: Justin Lloyd

But, by her estimation, both the footage and “constant commentary” have “created this sense of intimacy for people, like they know me and what happened – like they were there”.

“This feeling like I’m being watched constantly has been intense and isolating,” she added.

“Eventually I made my peace with it. I have to live my life and try to move on. I have a business to run, I don’t want to miss out on special moments with my friends and family because I’m hiding away.

“I had to find self-compassion and accept that I’m human, and I’m just doing my best. I can only stand up and own my share of responsibility for what I do and say. I can’t control what anyone else does or says.”

‘I had to find self-compassion and accept that I’m human, and I’m just doing my best.’ Picture: Instagram

As for whether “moving on” with her life has involved getting back with Clarke – whose eastern suburbs home she was photographed leaving in July – Yarbrough said her priorities are elsewhere.

“This year has been so challenging dealing with everything, working my way through it all, healing and finding my feet again,” she said.

“I’ve realised actually what’s best is to just be focused on myself and my business for now.”

The interest in her personal life has been “scary and overwhelming and so strange” – and off the back of the January scandal, “there were days I didn’t know how I would keep going”.

“It was a lot to cope with at the time … but having the business kept me focused, kept me putting one foot in front of the other because I didn’t want to let anyone down,” Yarbrough said.

“I have a close-knit group of friends, who are like extended family to me. It’s important to have people around you can trust. Keeping things private has become a lot harder this year – sometimes you think you’re alone and then all of a sudden you’ll see a photographer lens or see a flash and think, where did they come from?

“I never thought me in my activewear at the [Merci Maison] warehouse would be so interesting. Navigating that when you’re a normal person trying to live your life can be tough.”

Jasmine Stefanovic and Jade Yarbrough with their mum, Cheryl. Picture: Instagram

With her dad, Bobby. Picture: Instagram

It’s also given her a new appreciation for what her sister, Jasmine, went through when she and Stefanovic went public with their relationship in 2017.

“My family are my biggest support and my rock … They are my great source of strength.

“I have so much empathy for what [Jasmine and Stefanovic] have been through over the years living in the public eye,” Yarbrough said.

“I thought I understood and I definitely felt for them, but now … it’s different. You never really know what it’s like until you’re at the centre of it, and I respect the way they navigated things.

“The values my parents instilled in us – to love and protect each other – are always there and we will always be there for each other. That has never changed and never will.”

Stellar is out today in The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (South Australia)