Jackson Stefanovic: ‘Someone Had To Protect Mum And I Knew That Person Was Me'

Karl and Cass’ eldest child is finally ready to tell his side of the story.

- Lizzie Wilson

Ask any child of divorce and they’ll tell you that watching their parents split was one of the hardest things they’ve ever had to endure. But for Jackson Stefanovic, whose family has hit the headlines ever since his Today show star dad Karl walked out on his mum Cassandra in September 2016, the pain has been unimaginable. Now, after years of suffering in silence, the usually private teen is finally speaking out about his parents’ bitter split.

INCONCEIVABLE HURT

“My mother is the most extraordinary person, and what she has weathered these past few years, no one deserves the backlash,” Jackson tells Woman’s Day. “To watch my parents private lives play out so publicly was incredibly destructive for all of us – someone had to step up and protect her, and I knew that person was me,” the 19-year-old says, speaking exclusively from the family home he shares with Cass and his younger siblings Ava, 13, and River, 12, in Sydney’s lower north shore.