Nine star Sylvia Jeffreys opens up about ‘challenging’ job losses

Sylvia Jeffreys opens up on the personal fallout of losing her job at Today after her brother-in-law Karl Stefanovic was stood down in 2018.

She was let go from her role as a newsreader on the Today show in 2018–- not long after her brother-in-law Karl Stefanovic was stood down from his role as co-host–- and eight years on, Sylvia Jeffreys still acknowledges it wasn’t an easy time.

Not long after her departure, Jeffreys’ husband Peter Stefanovic also parted ways with Nine Network. In February, Karl also spoke with Stellar about the fallout from their mass exodus, revealing that he “genuinely felt it was my fault”.

Now, in a new interview with the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About, Jeffreys – who currently co-hosts Today Extra alongside David Campbell – has responded to his take.

Sylvia Jeffreys still acknowledges it wasn’t an easy time. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

“It’s really sweet of Karl to acknowledge how hard that was for everyone,” the 39-year-old told Stellar. “He is a big softie and he feels it. We’ve had our own private conversations about that. And I know how he feels because it was hard for everyone; we all had jobs that we loved then.

“But this is the gig. It’s public and sometimes that means that there are some really weird forces at play when it comes to decisions around what we do and where we are and who we work with. It was really challenging, but I always look for the silver linings and this is how I survive things. And the silver lining was that I had amazing support from Pete. We were an amazing team through that.”

Jeffreys with Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson. Picture: Supplied

Still, Jeffreys says it was a “very weird thing to be under the microscope” and that it was an intense period for them both professionally and personally.

“I was also trying to have a baby back then and it wasn’t working. So that was kind of compounding those emotions as well. There was a lot going on for us.”

Listen to the full interview with Sylvia Jeffreys on Something To Talk About below:

The TV presenter has also had to contend with ongoing speculation that she and her former colleague Lisa Wilkinson–- who worked with Jeffreys on the Today show until mid-2017 – were constantly at odds behind the scenes.

Sylvia Jeffreys is Stellar’s cover star. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Sylvia Jeffreys and Peter Stefanovic at Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough's wedding in Cabo, Mexico. Picture: Instagram

“I often like to imagine the meeting rooms when [people are] coming up with these headlines. Like they have two photos of me and Lisa [Wilkinson] and they’re what, seven gin and tonics deep, seeing who can come up with the most creative headline about what’s going on between the two of us,” she told Something To Talk About.

“I don’t know how it works. It’s wild to me, but if anyone understands why it happens, then give us a holler. Because we’d love to know.”

Read the full interview and see the shoot with Sylvia Jeffreys in the new issue of Stellar out today inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA). For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as Nine star Sylvia Jeffreys opens up about ‘challenging’ job losses