Making the most of his time off air, Karl Stefanovic whisked his new wife Jasmine away for a romantic baby-making holiday in Europe.
Jetting off to the city of love, Paris, the pair had hoped that Karl’s second vasectomy reversal had been a success, so they can look forward to welcoming the pitter-patter of tiny feet soon.
“They are both so clucky right now,” says a friend. “They don’t know if the reversal has worked this time and it can take months sometimes, but they wanted to do something special together, so headed off to France for a break.”
But just hours after touching down, their exciting plans and intimate getaway were overshadowed by the shocking news that head honchos at
Nine Network are considering offering the former breakfast presenter his old gig back.
Having been stood down from the role after plummeting ratings and viewer backlash, the television bosses have had second thoughts about their decision and feel maybe they were too quick to lay blame on Karl. “Karl’s gone and the ratings have fallen even more, so they realise now there was more to it,” says a television insider. “And bringing him back again has certainly got merit. They have seen it work for Grant Denyer, and they have been in contact to discuss that possibility.”
Knowing full well how gruelling his work schedule used to be, shoe designer Jasmine is worried her husband may miss out on important milestones with a new baby, and with her immediate family living in Queensland, she is worried about her support network.
“It is on her mind,” says the friend. “She is used to having him around now and really enjoys doing everything together. Of course, she knew
he would have to head back to work at some point but didn’t really think it would be doing those early mornings again.”
Loving the freedom of travelling more and being able to socialise without the worry of a 3am start, Karl is feeling torn by a possible career comeback and has been distracted by the bittersweet news. “He loved that job and that status, and of course that salary,” says the friend.
“But he also missed a lot with his kids growing up and wants to be around as much as he can now. Not just for Jas and their new baby, but for his other three kids too – he wants to make up for lost time there.”
The pair, who met five months after Karl’s marriage to Cassandra Thorburn ended, had made no secret of the fact they were hoping to start a family – telling guests at their lavish Mexican wedding last year that it was a priority
But just days later Karl was dumped from his prime-time television role because of the controversy surrounding the new couple, his messy divorce and the Uber scandal where he was caught out moaning about his bosses.
“It was a rough start for them and there were times when they didn’t know how they would get through,” says the friend.
But having given it time to let the dust settle, the newlyweds are finally feeling more relaxed and are ready to give their baby-making plans their full stress-free attention.
“That was going to be their focus and now all this talk about giving him his old job back has really shaken Jasmine,” says the friend.
“Of course she wants Karl to be happy and support him in that but she doesn’t want to end up bringing up a baby alone.”
For more, see this week’s New Idea – out now!
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