KARL’S PRE-NUP HELL
THE TODAY SHOW HOST’S WEEK FROM HELL
On the eve of her wedding, Jasmine Yarbrough couldn’t hide the stress of the past few weeks as she was seen glued to her phone while frenetically pacing the streets.
It’s supposed to be the happiest time in their lives, as they plan their special day but with news of plummeting ratings on the Today show, Jasmine’s fiance, Karl Stefanovic, has found himself in hot water. Today ’s ratings have dropped to below 200,000 – the lowest they’ve been in over 10 years.
Today’s ratings have been dramatically dropping ever since Karl separated from his wife-of21-years Cassandra Thorburn in 2016. After such a public divorce and his subsequent hook-up with Jasmine, it’s believed that Karl’s personal life – including his engagement to the fashion designer, who is nine years his junior – has been a turn-off for female viewers.
This latest blow has put Karl’s position in jeopardy, adding to the presenter’s stress over the future of his embattled career.
In another twist of events, Karl has been pictured meeting up with finance expert Simon O’brien to possibly put in place measures to ensure his money is in order if his role was to change on Today. Over the last few years, Karl’s finances have taken a hit, specifically after his widely reported big-money divorce settlement with ex Cassandra.
Now, with his extravaganza wedding with Jasmine in the works, his finances are at the forefront of his mind and he may need to reel it in.
It’s been widely reported Karl had to pay Cassandra $6 million in cash and assets plus ongoing monthly maintenance for the upkeep of his three kids.
Karl is now looking to protect his millions – and he’s called in a hot-shot Sydney money manager to help him. Karl sat down for a long lunch with Simon, a senior partner at Crestone Wealth Management – the company that manages the Channel Nine star’s millions.
Those discussions may well have also included talk about a possible prenuptial agreement between Karl and Jasmine, who has been thrust into the spotlight after falling head over heels for the television presenter two years ago.
With celebrity guests, an exclusive destination and a price tag believed to be well over a quarter of a million dollars, the glamorous wedding is expected to be the biggest event in recent Australian television history with the likes of James Packer expected to be on the guest list.
The pair are said to have splashed out $30,000 alone on two villas for the three-day wedding celebration in Mexico, which will include a fireworks show to entertain their guests.
With just months to go before the nuptials take place, this spanner in the works may complicate matters.
The couple apparently exchanged vows in a commitment ceremony on
Sydney’s Palm Beach in March this year and it is thought that Karl proposed to Jasmine at the Kokomo Island Resort in Fiji on Jan. 14.
The father-of-three split with his wife Cassandra two years ago and just months afterwards was pictured kissing Jasmine on a boat in Sydney.
Karl previously said of their relationship: “When Jasmine came into my life, I had no thoughts of new love or the future, but we are happy and grateful we found each other.”
His ex-wife Cassandra, meanwhile, has been highly critical of their union.
“Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,” she said. “The flip-side of that is I feel like we’re dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life. There has been practically no contact.”