EXCLUSIVE
The ex-wife of Today show meteorologist Steve Jacobs has given up alcohol as she reinvents herself as a Bali real estate mogul after her bitter divorce and a series of dating disasters.
Rose Kelly made headlines when she attacked police with her then-boyfriend Matt Shir in 2020 and was then caught driving while suspended last year.
Now the mother-of-two has confessed to Daily Mail Australia that she made “stupid decisions” after turning to alcohol “to numb the pain” following the end of her marriage to Steve in 2017.
She claims she became drunk when her husband’s loyal followers attacked her in a hate campaign after the love breakup, and is still bitter about the reaction she felt.
“There were a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that haven’t been made public yet and I’ll take that to my grave,” he says.
‘I’m not doing this to protect anyone other than my children, but every separation involves two parties.
“The headlines pointed the finger at me and that was difficult, the public shaming was hard and I don’t think it was fair that I had put up with it all.”
Rose and Steve Jacobs called time on their marriage in 2017 after having two children together.
In a rare interview, Rose Kelly opens up about life after divorce.
Kelly says she’s been sober for three years and is ready for a new start with a self-imposed ban on men and a new best friend in former Home and Away star Jodi Gordon.
“Anyone who has been through a divorce knows how difficult it can be,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“I drank more than I felt happy, not just in moments of celebration, and I think that’s the Australian way.
‘You drink if you are bored to escape from emotions, from moments of sadness and because it is something social.
‘And I have made the conscious decision to be single at this stage of my life. I’m not closed to love, but I’m not desperately looking for it either.
Kelly insists Jacobs is still the “love of her life” and says the real reason for the breakup was her TV tour life.
“Our marriage was under incredible pressure and not many could survive,” he added. ‘He was absent up to 300 days a year for 10 years.
‘If anyone could survive, it would be a miracle. People sat at home at breakfast wondering where the weatherman was today, but for us it’s where is daddy today?
‘How can you say connected and united? It’s impossible.’
Rose has several Vilas in Bali and rents them all out.
Rose is involved in the design aspects of all of her luxury villas.
While Kelly admits she hasn’t made the wisest decisions when choosing men, she has exercised better judgment when it comes to ownership.
He will fly to Bali next week to check out his latest project: a luxurious four-bedroom villa in Uluwatu that will rent for more than $1,000 a night.
After making a profit selling the Brontë apartment she bought after the divorce, she moved her investment to Indonesia and now has several villas in her portfolio.
“I’m lucky to have been raised by a single mother who made very smart decisions when it came to real estate investing and I’ve learned from that and done a lot of research,” she says.
‘I broke my stomach to get to where I am today. I got almost 100 per cent in my HSC, I did a double degree at University and I speak several languages and now I get paid to do what I love: travel journalist for Sydney Travel Guide.’
Kelly said giving up alcohol wasn’t easy, and she even lost friends in the process, but it also sparked her new friendship with soap star Gordon.
The couple were originally neighbors in Sydney’s eastern suburbs before they both moved to new homes, but they kept in touch and later became even closer, he said.
“She was married to Braith Anasta and I was married to Steven and we lived opposite each other in Coogee,” Kelly said.
Rose and former Home and Away actress Jodi Gordon have become best friends
“But it wasn’t until we were both single mothers that our paths crossed again and we realized we had a lot in common.
‘Jodie is my best girlfriend and she doesn’t drink alcohol either, we are both single mothers, we both work in the media and have girls the same age.
“It’s like a sisterhood: I trust her with my life, we’re there to lift each other up, and I’m so lucky to have her in my life.”