Cassandra Thorburn has hit out at her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic after her months-long battle with a rare form of breast cancer.
The TV journalist, who was married to Karl for more than twenty years before they separated in 2016, told the story The Sydney Morning Herald this week she had not heard from him after publicly announcing her cancer diagnosis in February.
‘No, I know who he is. Others don’t,” the 55-year-old said.
Cassandra made another comment about her ex and also claimed that her ex-husband had always been into “clickbait” before launching his new right-wing podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show.
Elsewhere, Cassandra – who is now cancer-free but continues treatment with radiation and immunotherapy – spoke to the publication about ‘cancer ghosting’ – a phenomenon where friends and family suddenly withdraw from someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.
“Some people don’t know what to say, or there’s just too much time passing in their heads,” she said.
Cassandra Thorburn, 55, (pictured) has revealed she had not heard from her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic after publicly announcing her cancer diagnosis in February
Cassandra made another comment about her ex and also claimed that her ex-husband had always been into “clickbait” before launching his new right-wing podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show. (Karl and Cassandra pictured in 2012)
“When you are diagnosed with cancer, I can guarantee you don’t expect anything from anyone else. You don’t start judging your friends or colleagues, or someone you’ve known in the past, and think, ‘Why aren’t they contacting me?’
‘That’s not what you think. But what you think is that you don’t expect people to leave.’
In May, Cassandra had uploaded an unedited video discussing cancer ghosting, calling it a “taboo topic” that is more common than people realize.
“A recent side conversation got me thinking about a seemingly taboo cancer topic: cancer ghosting,” she told her followers.
‘What is it? And why can it be more painful than cancer treatment, according to an article about survivors I read?’
Cassandra assured everyone suffering from cancer that it is not their fault that they are being abandoned during such a difficult time.
“It’s usually caused by the emotional limitations of those friends, rather than their lack of care,” she said.
Elsewhere, Cassandra – who is now cancer-free but continues treatment with radiation and immunotherapy – spoke to the publication about ‘cancer ghosting’ – a phenomenon where friends and family suddenly withdraw from someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Cassandra was married to Karl for 21 years before their bitter split in 2016. (Pictured in 2012)
Cassandra was married to Karl from 1995 until their divorce in 2016.
They share three children: Jackson, 25, Ava, 19, and River, 18.
Karl has since remarried, marrying former model Jasmine Yarbrough in 2018. The couple share a daughter, Harper, six.
Cassandra began her career as a media personality and television journalist, before putting her professional ambitions on hold to raise her three children.
Karl thanked her in his 2011 Logies-winning speech for “giving up” her budding career as a journalist to focus on her family.
