Kyle’s ex ‘I still love him’
Tamara Jaber tells:
Successful and happy as a singer in LA, Kyle’s ex doesn’t hold a grudge against the radio star
Tamara Jaber now laughs out loud about her infamous war of words with Kyle Sandilands’ girlfriend Imogen Anthony, which at one point saw Tamara take to social media to declare the couple’s relationship made her want to “vomit”.
“I was still hurt and there was still so much crap and emotions there,” she says about the feud, in which Tamara, 33, labelled 25-year-old Imogen a “beautiful, young foetus” after Imogen branded her a “jealous mental” ex two years ago.
The beautiful singer, who was with Kyle for a decade from age 19, has finally forgiven him for their marriage woes, and says she still loves him, even though they split more than six years ago.
“I will always love Kyle – we spent 10 years together – but I am not ‘in love’ with him,” she says.
Tamara explains she has discovered it’s true that time heals all wounds. She wishes Kyle and Imogen – who she’s never met or spoken to – well, saying the younger woman clearly makes him happy.
“I don’t have an opinion of her, really,” she says. “I’ve never met her, but I feel like, if they’ve been together this long, they obviously love each other. They must share a connection, and I’m sure that she can be a very sweet girl.”
Tamara even says she’d advise Imogen to take a chance and wed the controversial radio star.
No regrets
“I’d tell her to give it a go,” she says. “I’ve only had experience with how he was with me, and I’m sure that with every person, people react differently. I’m not sure how he is with her but they do seem pretty happy.
“I’ve never regretted marrying Kyle, not in a million years.
“I know a lot of people might think I do, but I don’t regret it at all. I wouldn’t be who I am now if I hadn’t married him.
“You have to know Kyle is eccentric and you have to know that he is more sensitive than you would expect.
“People assume he’s a prick because of how he’s perceived, but he’s kind of sensitive. He is very artistic, so you need to treat him like an artist, not a bloke.
“He’s a Gemini so he embodies both the more outlandish side as well as the really sensitive side.”
Despite their short marriage (the couple wed in 2008, only to call it quits two years later) Tamara says that her time as Mrs Sandilands hasn’t put her off love.
Happily single after splitting from UK banker and professional rugby union player Ken Aseme, 36, last year, Tamara says there’s no shortage of men in her life. She has even tried dating app Tinder for fun.
“I tend to date guys who are 100 per cent the opposite to Kyle, so I date a lot of athletes,” explains the singer. She joked about it with Kyle when she spoke to him for the first time in a “long time”, to pass on condolences after his father died earlier this month.
“I said, ‘Why do you think I date all these athletes?’ and he said, ‘Darl, it’s because you had to deal with a fat f**k like me for all those years.’ We had a laugh about it. I tend to pick the most unique men on the face of the earth. I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to my choices.”
Public pain
Jokes aside, Tamara says she was so hurt after the split, she needed to flee Australia and the spotlight.
“I felt traumatised by what happened between Kyle and me, and how it was all played out in public,” she says.
“I think any break-up or divorce – and we were together for a very long time – is traumatic. Add to that the public eye and coming off Dancing With the Stars… At the time I felt like I had to erase it all and create a new life.
“For me it was all about picking myself up and starting over, and I honestly couldn’t do that in Australia. It was too much for me. I needed to get away from everything and from where it was so emotionally charged. And that’s what I did.”
‘You need to treat him like an artist and not a bloke’
Tamara moved to Los Angeles six years ago to start afresh, working on her music career and launching herself as a fashion rep and model. She overhauled her diet and began an intense workout regimen that has seen her become fitter than ever.
Looking back
“I wish I’d known then what I know now, and maybe I could have handled things differently,” admits the former Scandal’us star, who now literally sings for her supper, performing around the world with a big band at corporate events.
“I feel like I could’ve given myself a hug, and told myself it was all going to be all right.
“I love my life in LA now, but at the same time I need to get home every now and then, to keep it real. I’d still love to meet someone and fall in love.”