Diane Plese: The Untold Story of Robert Herjavec’s Ex-Wife

Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist best known as the former wife of businessman, investor, and television personality Robert Herjavec. Born in Toronto in 1959, she built her own professional career in eye care before her marriage brought her greater public attention.

Diane became widely known through her long marriage to Robert, which lasted more than two decades and produced three children. This article explores her early background, optometry career, marriage, divorce settlement, children, financial life, and the quieter path she followed afterward.

Profile Summary

Early Life and Background

Diane Plese was born in 1959 in Parkdale, Toronto, Canada. She grew up in a family with Croatian roots because her parents were Croatian immigrants. Her upbringing in Canada helped shape the personal and professional life she would later build in Toronto.

Much of Diane’s childhood remained outside public attention. Details concerning her parents’ names, siblings, and early school years were never widely discussed in interviews. She instead became publicly recognized much later in adulthood, particularly through her professional career and relationship with Robert Herjavec.

Diane Plese Education

Diane focused on education before becoming associated with a famous entrepreneur. She earned a college degree during the late 1970s and later decided to enter the healthcare field. Her educational path eventually led her toward optometry and the professional treatment of patients’ vision needs.

She continued her studies by completing an optometry program in the early 1980s. This training allowed Diane to qualify as an eye doctor and begin building an independent career. Her professional background therefore existed before Robert Herjavec became the successful television personality audiences recognize today.

Diane Plese Career as an Optometrist

Diane Plese began working professionally as an optometrist during the mid-1980s. Her work involved providing eye examinations and helping patients manage their vision and eye-care needs. This profession gave her an established career that was separate from Robert Herjavec’s later business and television success.

She practiced optometry for several years and maintained a comparatively private professional life. Her career is particularly important to her biography because it was reportedly through her workplace that she first encountered Robert. Their initial meeting eventually developed into a relationship and long-lasting marriage.

How Diane Plese Met Robert Herjavec

Diane Plese reportedly met Robert Herjavec in 1988 when he visited the eye clinic where she was working. Their first encounter therefore happened through Diane’s profession rather than through entertainment, business events, or the television world that would later make Robert internationally recognizable.

The two became interested in each other and started a relationship. They dated for approximately two years before deciding to marry. Their relationship began before Robert achieved the level of wealth and television fame that later made his personal and professional life a subject of widespread attention.

Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec’s Wedding

Diane and Robert married in 1990 after approximately two years together. Their wedding took place at a Croatian church in Mississauga, Ontario. Their shared Croatian family heritage formed part of the background surrounding their relationship and the family they subsequently created together.

Following their wedding, Diane and Robert settled into married life and eventually welcomed three children. Their marriage also covered an important period in Robert’s entrepreneurial journey, including the years when he developed businesses and eventually became a wealthy and recognizable Canadian entrepreneur.

Diane’s Role During Robert Herjavec’s Early Career

Diane was with Robert during the period when he was building his business career. Robert established BRAK Systems, an internet security software integration company, and initially operated the business from the family’s basement while working to turn the company into a successful enterprise.

The business eventually became extremely valuable. In 2000, Robert sold BRAK Systems to AT&T Canada, which later became Allstream Inc., for $30.2 million. The transaction represented an important financial milestone for Robert and significantly changed the financial circumstances surrounding the Herjavec family.

How Long Were Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec Married?

Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec spent approximately 24 years together as a married couple. They married in 1990 and built a family while Robert’s entrepreneurial career expanded. During their marriage, they became parents to one son and two daughters.

Their relationship lasted through major changes in their lives, including Robert’s growing business success and increasing public recognition. However, after more than two decades together, the couple separated in 2014. Their separation marked the beginning of the end of one of Robert’s longest personal relationships.

Why Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec Separated

Diane and Robert disclosed that they had separated on 24 July 2014. Their separation attracted considerable attention because Robert had become a recognizable businessman and television personality. Diane filed for divorce in March 2015 after the couple had already begun living separately.

Reports surrounding the breakup connected Robert with actress Danielle Vasinova and described an alleged extramarital relationship in 2014. Robert publicly described the period as extremely difficult and expressed his desire for love and peace within his family while looking toward a new chapter.

Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec’s Divorce

The end of Diane and Robert’s marriage developed into a highly publicized divorce. Diane filed in 2015, and the divorce proceedings were ultimately finalized in 2016. Their considerable wealth meant that financial arrangements became an important part of the separation process.

Robert was ordered to provide substantial financial support following the divorce. The arrangement included $125,000 per month in spousal and child support as well as an additional settlement valued at approximately $25 million, making their divorce financially significant as well as personally difficult.

Diane Plese Divorce Settlement

Diane’s settlement involved both money and valuable property accumulated during the marriage. The approximately $25 million settlement represented a considerable portion of the wealth associated with the couple’s life together and became one of the most widely discussed aspects of their divorce.

Property was also included in the financial arrangements. Diane received the family’s Caledon ski chalet as well as their Florida property. These assets, combined with the financial settlement, left her in a strong financial position after ending her long marriage to Robert Herjavec.

Diane Plese Net Worth

Diane Plese’s net worth has been estimated at approximately $100 million. Her financial position has been associated with both her professional background as an optometrist and the considerable assets connected with the settlement she received following her divorce from Robert Herjavec.

The $25 million divorce settlement formed a particularly significant part of discussions about her wealth. Diane also received valuable properties during the divorce proceedings. Despite the financial attention surrounding her, she has not built a highly visible public lifestyle around displaying her personal wealth.

Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec’s Children

Diane and Robert welcomed three children during their marriage: Brendan, Skye, and Caprice. Although their parents’ divorce attracted widespread attention, the children have followed their own educational and professional paths rather than simply being recognized through their famous father.

Diane’s family role remains an important part of her biography. Her children have pursued careers connected with business, entrepreneurship, consulting, and other professional fields. Robert later expanded his family after marrying Kym Johnson, but Brendan, Skye, and Caprice remain his three children with Diane.

Brendan Herjavec

Brendan is Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec’s eldest child and their only son. He was born in 1993, a few years after his parents married. Growing up, he experienced the period in which his father transformed from an entrepreneur into a highly successful businessman.

As an adult, Brendan entered the business world himself. He has worked in business strategy and development, giving him a professional connection to the broader corporate environment. Despite having a famous father, Brendan has generally maintained a less public lifestyle than Robert Herjavec.

Skye Herjavec

Skye is Diane and Robert’s second child. She was born in 1996 and grew up alongside her older brother Brendan and younger sister Caprice. Her childhood coincided with a particularly important period in her father’s career as his businesses became increasingly successful.

Skye eventually developed her own professional interests and became involved in business and entrepreneurship. Like the other children from Diane and Robert’s marriage, she has a recognizable family background but has focused on developing an independent career rather than becoming a regular television personality.

Caprice Herjavec

Caprice is the youngest of Diane Plese’s three children and was born in 1998. During her education, she demonstrated strong athletic ability and became a successful college athlete. Her interests eventually expanded beyond sports as she prepared to enter the professional world.

After college, Caprice pursued a business-oriented career and worked as a consultant at an executive compensation consulting firm. Her path demonstrates that Diane and Robert’s children have developed professional identities of their own while maintaining connections to a successful and widely recognized family.

Diane Plese’s Life After Divorce

After ending her marriage to Robert Herjavec, Diane continued living a comparatively private life in Toronto, Canada. Unlike Robert, whose business activities and television appearances keep him in public view, Diane has generally avoided turning her personal experiences into a continuing celebrity career.

Her quieter lifestyle explains why public attention surrounding her usually focuses on her previous marriage, divorce settlement, children, and professional background. She appears to value privacy and has not pursued the same entertainment exposure that has remained an important part of Robert’s professional life.

Robert Herjavec’s Marriage After Diane Plese

Robert eventually began a new chapter in his personal life following his separation from Diane. He developed a relationship with Kym Johnson, an Australian professional dancer widely recognized through her appearances on the television competition Dancing with the Stars.

Robert and Kym married in 2016, the same year his divorce from Diane was finalized. Their family later expanded when they welcomed twins, Haven and Hudson, in April 2018. Robert therefore has three children with Diane and two younger children with Kym.

Diane Plese’s Private Personality

One noticeable characteristic of Diane’s public life is her preference for privacy. She has never developed the highly visible media identity associated with Robert. Even when their marriage and divorce generated attention, Diane generally remained less involved in television appearances and celebrity publicity.

This privacy has allowed her to maintain considerable distance from the entertainment world. While people continue searching for information about her because of Robert Herjavec, Diane’s professional background, children, and family history remain the central elements through which her individual story can be understood.

Final Thoughts

Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist whose life became widely known through her marriage to Robert Herjavec. Born in Toronto in 1959, she developed an independent healthcare career before marrying Robert in 1990 and sharing more than two decades of family life with him.

Their marriage produced three children and lasted through Robert’s transformation into a wealthy entrepreneur and television personality. Following their separation and divorce, Diane received a substantial settlement and returned to a quieter lifestyle, remaining best known as an optometrist, mother, and Robert Herjavec’s former wife.

FAQs About Diane Plese

Who is Diane Plese?

Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist best known as the former wife of entrepreneur, investor, and Shark Tank personality Robert Herjavec. She was born in Toronto in 1959 and shares three children with Robert: Brendan, Skye, and Caprice.

How old is Diane Plese?

Diane Plese was born in 1959 in Parkdale, Toronto, Canada. Based on her reported birth year, she is around 66 or 67 years old in 2026, depending on the exact date of her birthday.

Why did Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec divorce?

Diane and Robert separated in July 2014 after approximately 24 years of marriage. Reports surrounding their breakup linked Robert to an alleged relationship with actress Danielle Vasinova. Diane filed for divorce in March 2015, and their divorce was finalized in 2016.

How much did Diane Plese receive in her divorce?

Diane reportedly received an approximately $25 million settlement following her divorce from Robert Herjavec. The financial arrangements also involved substantial monthly support and valuable properties, including the family’s Caledon ski chalet and a property located in Florida.

How many children does Diane Plese have?

Diane Plese has three children with Robert Herjavec. Their eldest child, Brendan, was born in 1993, followed by Skye in 1996 and Caprice in 1998. All three have pursued professional or educational paths outside their parents’ marriage.

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