“What was this thing Karl and I had between us?”

An excerpt from Lisa Wilkinson’s upcoming book It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This reveals her apparent falling out with former Today host Karl Stefanovic in 2017.

She details in the Sunday Telegraph how an event renewing her marriage vows with Peter FitzSimons was snubbed by Stefanovic.

In what reads like a script from Morning Wars she notes his failure to address the matter at their next early morning start, after a 10 day break. It didn’t go down well…

“What was this thing Karl and I had between us? I’d presumed that along with our work relationship, there was a friendship as well. I must have been wrong. For all the early starts, the ratings we’d worked so hard to claw back, the significant wins, the occasional disappointments, the hilarious on-air moments, the understanding we had of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, the confidences we’d shared, the chemistry magic even we didn’t quite understand … how could he still treat me with such uncaring disregard?” she wrote.

She notes he did contact FitzSimons to say he couldn’t attend -but not his co-host.

But she also points out Stefanovic enquired once the cameras were rolling.

“Well, good morning, great to have your company on this Monday, October 16. And good news, Lisa has returned from holidays … in fact, didn’t you get married again while you were away? Congratulations!” she claimed.

Also didn’t go down well.

Executive Producer Mark Calvert also comes in for a bit of a serve for being largely absent post-show  -it would be her last at Nine.

There are further details around negotiations by her manager Nick Fordham with Nine’s then-CEO, Hugh Marks, which ended with her contract not being renewed. Did others know she was on the way out? It’s not clear…. nor is there any right of reply given it is a book excerpt.

At the time Wilkinson cited ‘lots of reasons’ for her exit, but she signed with Network 10 the same day.

You can read more here.