Sylvia Jeffreys and Tom Steinfort’s Past Romance Revealed Ahead of Their New Today Partnership
Before hosting today together, what were they? — Sylvia Jeffreys and Tom Steinfort’s past romance revealed
When Sylvia Jeffreys and Tom Steinfort take their places on the Today couch, viewers will be seeing two of Nine’s most familiar journalists beginning a new chapter together.
But their story did not begin with a television studio, a network announcement or years of working side by side.
More than a decade ago, the pair were reportedly romantically involved — long before either had become the established television figures they are today.
Now, after years spent building separate careers, marriages and families, they are preparing to reunite professionally as the permanent hosts of Today for 2027.
A new beginning with an old connection
Nine officially announced Jeffreys and Steinfort as the new Today hosting team on September 17, following months of changes around the breakfast program.
The network said the decision followed extensive research into breakfast television, viewer behaviour and audience feedback.
The pair had already been appearing together on Today while Nine tested different presenting combinations, before ultimately settling on the new partnership.
Their official run begins as Today enters a new era in 2027.
For Jeffreys, however, this is not an entirely unfamiliar place.
She has been part of the Today family for almost 15 years, having worked as a reporter and newsreader before moving into presenting roles including Weekend Today and Today Extra.
For Steinfort, the journey has taken a different route — but has repeatedly brought him back to the same network and, at times, the same programs.
Before the cameras, there was another kind of connection
According to The Daily Telegraph, Jeffreys and Steinfort were once romantically involved more than a decade ago.
The precise length of the relationship has been reported differently, with some accounts suggesting they dated for around eight months, while a source close to the former couple told the publication it was closer to a couple of months.
Either way, the relationship belongs firmly to another period of their lives.
Neither was yet the established Today presenter viewers know today.
Their paths would continue to cross professionally over the years, but their personal lives moved in very different directions.
And now, more than a decade later, they are preparing to sit beside one another each weekday morning.
Two careers that kept crossing paths
Jeffreys has spent much of her career at Nine.
After joining the network as a reporter and newsreader, she went on to become a familiar presence across Today, Weekend Today and Today Extra. Nine now describes her as having almost 15 years with the Today family.
Steinfort joined Nine in 2007 and has worked across major programs including A Current Affair, 60 Minutes and 9News, while also taking on presenting roles at Weekend Today and serving as a newsreader on Today.
Their professional lives therefore kept bringing them into the same television world, even as their personal lives continued elsewhere.
That makes their new partnership particularly unusual: it is not simply the meeting of two experienced broadcasters, but the latest chapter in a connection that stretches back years.
Both have built very different lives since then
The romance is now long in the past.
Jeffreys is married to fellow journalist Peter Stefanovic, and the couple are expecting their third child.
Steinfort is married to stylist Claudia Jukic, and they share two children.
The two former flames have therefore moved well beyond the lives they were living when they first knew each other romantically.
Their reunion on the Today couch comes after both have established families of their own.
A new chapter after major change at Today
Their appointment follows a significant period of change for Nine’s breakfast program.
Sarah Abo announced on September 16 that she would leave Nine at the end of 2026 to pursue other opportunities. She said becoming a mother had marked a new chapter in her life and thanked the Today team and viewers for their support.
Nine subsequently confirmed Jeffreys and Steinfort as the new hosts for 2027.
The network said the pair bring a combined four decades of journalism and television presenting experience to the role.
Nine also described their previous appearances together on the program as receiving consistently positive viewer feedback, which contributed to the decision.
“She’s a brilliant broadcaster, a great mate”
Steinfort appeared particularly enthusiastic about the person he will now be sharing the couch with.
Describing Jeffreys as a “brilliant broadcaster, a great mate and a lot of fun,” he made clear that their relationship today is firmly rooted in professional respect and friendship.
Jeffreys was equally positive about returning to the centre of Today.
She said the program had “always felt like home”, describing the opportunity to continue its legacy and steer it into a new era alongside Steinfort as an honour.
From a private chapter to a very public one
There is something quietly remarkable about where their story has arrived.
Years ago, Jeffreys and Steinfort were two young journalists whose lives briefly became intertwined away from the cameras.
Since then, they have built separate careers, married different partners and become parents.
Now they are being brought together again — not by a date or a chance encounter, but by one of Australia’s most recognisable breakfast programs.
The cameras will be on them five mornings a week.
But behind that new professional partnership sits a piece of history few viewers may have known: before Sylvia Jeffreys and Tom Steinfort became the new faces of Today, they had already shared another chapter — one that ended long before this one began.