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Who Is Diane Plese?
Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist from Toronto, Ontario. Most people know her name for one reason. She was married to Robert Herjavec for close to twenty-four years. Robert is a well-known businessman, investor, and TV personality. He appears on Shark Tank in the United States and Dragon’s Den in Canada. But Diane built her own identity long before her ex-husband became a household name. She trained as a licensed optometrist and worked in the healthcare industry for years. Her career, her family, and her divorce settlement have all drawn public attention. This article covers her full story in simple, clear detail.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Diane Plese |
| Born | 1959 |
| Birthplace | Toronto, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Profession | Optometrist |
| Known For | Former wife of Robert Herjavec |
| Marriage | Robert Herjavec, 1990 |
| Separation | 2014 |
| Divorce | 2016 |
| Children | 3 — Brendan, Skye, and Caprice |
| Public Profile | Generally private and low-key |
Early Life in Parkdale, Toronto
Diane Plese was born in 1959. She grew up in Parkdale, a neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were Croatian immigrants who moved to Canada for a better life. They settled in Toronto and raised their family there. Diane grew up with strong values around education and hard work. Her childhood was mostly private. She did not grow up in front of cameras or public attention. That came much later, after her marriage.
Toronto shaped much of who she became. The city gave her access to good schools and a stable environment. Croatian immigrant families in that era often placed heavy focus on discipline and academic success. Diane’s own path followed that pattern closely. She studied hard as a teenager and set her sights on a career in medicine and eye care.
Growing up as the daughter of Croatian immigrants also meant balancing two cultures at once. At home, Diane likely absorbed the traditions and language of her parents’ homeland. Outside the home, she moved through a typical Canadian school system alongside classmates from many different backgrounds. This mix is common among first-generation Canadians, and it often builds strong work habits early in life. Family members close to her have described her childhood as stable and grounded, without the kind of drama or attention that would later surround her adult life. That grounded upbringing appears to have stayed with her through every stage that followed, from her time in school to her decades as a working medical professional.
Educational Background
Diane pursued higher education in Canada. She chose a path in vision health and eye care, eventually training to become a licensed optometrist. This required years of study in science, anatomy, and clinical eye examination. Optometry is a demanding medical field. It requires precision, patience, and real skill with patients.
Her education prepared her for a long and stable career as a medical professional. She earned her degree and entered the healthcare industry as a working eye doctor. This was well before she met Robert Herjavec or gained any public attention. Her career came first, built entirely on her own effort.
Becoming a licensed optometrist is not a quick process. Students in this field typically spend several years in undergraduate science courses before moving into specialized clinical training in vision correction, eye anatomy, and patient care. Diane worked through that full process on her own timeline, without any outside help from a famous partner, since she had not yet met Robert at that point in her life. This detail matters because it separates her story from many other celebrity spouses. She did not marry into a medical career or borrow status from her husband’s success. She earned her professional title first, then built a family life around it.
Career as a Licensed Optometrist
Diane worked for years as an eye care professional in the Toronto area. As an optometrist, she handled:
- Routine eye exams and vision testing
- Diagnosis of common vision problems
- Prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses
- Basic treatment and referral for eye health issues
She built a strong reputation among patients for her calm and caring approach. Many reports describe her as a dedicated medical practitioner who valued her patients over public recognition. Her optometry practice gave her financial independence early in life. This mattered later, because it meant she entered her marriage with her own professional identity already in place.
Being a Canadian healthcare professional also gave Diane a grounded life outside her marriage. She was never just “the wife” of a businessman. She held her own place in the medical field, and that fact shaped how she handled everything that came after.
Optometry as a field carries steady demand, since vision care is a routine need for people of nearly every age. This gave Diane consistent work and income throughout her adult life, regardless of what happened in her marriage or in the news cycle around her ex-husband. Her patients likely never knew, or cared, that her personal life would one day become the subject of tabloid stories. To them, she was simply their eye doctor, someone trained to check vision, fit glasses, and catch early signs of eye disease. That everyday, practical work stands in sharp contrast to the high-profile divorce headlines that followed years later.
Meeting Robert Herjavec
Diane Plese met Robert Herjavec in Canada, years before he became a famous TV investor. At the time, Robert was not yet wealthy or well known. He was building his path in business, working through early jobs and small ventures before starting his own company.
The two connected as young adults and started a relationship that grew steadily. Neither of them had public status yet. Diane was working as an optometrist, and Robert was still years away from starting the cybersecurity company that would make his name. Reports say the couple married in 1990, beginning a partnership that would last close to a quarter of a century.
Life Before Robert Became Famous
Long before Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den, Robert Herjavec and Diane Plese lived a fairly simple life together. Robert worked long hours trying to build his business. Diane kept working as an eye doctor, contributing steady income and support during the early years of their marriage.
This period mattered a great deal. Diane was not marrying into fame or fortune. She was building a life alongside a man who was still working his way up. Many spouses of entrepreneurs go through years of financial pressure before any success arrives, and Diane’s early marriage followed that same pattern. Her career as a medical professional gave the household financial stability while Robert took business risks.
Marriage, Motherhood, and Family Life
Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec built a family together over the following years. They had three children:
Raising three kids while managing a career is never simple. Diane balanced her work as an optometrist with the demands of motherhood for years. As Robert’s business grew and his public profile expanded, family life at home also changed. The household moved into a more comfortable lifestyle, including properties such as a vacation home in Florida and a ski chalet in Caledon, Ontario.
Despite the growing spotlight on Robert, Diane kept her family life mostly private. She avoided interviews and public appearances, choosing instead to focus on raising her children and maintaining her career in eye care.
Balancing motherhood with a demanding medical career is not easy for anyone, and Diane’s situation added extra pressure as her husband’s public profile grew. Many working parents in dual-career households face similar strain, splitting attention between clinic hours, school schedules, and family responsibilities at home. Diane appears to have managed this balance quietly, without public complaint or media commentary. Reports from people close to the family describe her as family-oriented and deeply committed to her children’s wellbeing, even as the household’s lifestyle changed with Robert’s growing business success.
Robert Herjavec’s Rise to Fame
As Diane’s family grew, so did Robert’s business success. He built a company in the tech and cybersecurity industry and later became known worldwide as an investor on Shark Tank in the U.S. and Dragon’s Den in Canada. His net worth grew into the hundreds of millions.
This rise changed the family’s public exposure. Robert became a business celebrity, and by association, Diane became known as a TV personality’s spouse, even though she never sought that role. She continued working as a licensed optometrist through much of this period, keeping her identity as a medical professional intact even as her husband’s fame increased.
The Separation in 2014
After close to twenty-four years of marriage, Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec separated in 2014. Details around the exact reasons were never fully shared with the public. Diane, true to her private nature, declined to give specifics about why the long-term marriage ended.
Some reports at the time pointed to the pressure of Robert’s growing business commitments and his increasing time in the public eye. Whatever the cause, the separation marked the start of a lengthy and highly publicized celebrity divorce process that would take about two years to finalize.
Long marriages that end after two decades often involve complex emotional and financial questions, far beyond what gets reported in a headline. For Diane, the separation meant stepping away from a shared life built over more than twenty years, while also protecting her three children from unnecessary public exposure. She reportedly stayed quiet through the entire process, letting lawyers and court proceedings handle the practical details while she focused on her family at home. This approach reflects the same private, low-profile pattern she had followed throughout the marriage.
The 2016 Divorce and Settlement
Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec’s divorce was finalized in 2016, following an Ontario court ruling. This was a high-asset divorce, and it drew significant media coverage because of Robert’s fame and wealth. At the time, Robert’s estimated net worth stood near $200 million, built largely through his technology and cybersecurity ventures along with his television career.
Under the divorce settlement, Diane reportedly received close to $25 million, along with monthly spousal support figures reported near $125,000. This reflected an equalization payment based on the wealth built during their 24-year marriage. Below is a simple table summarizing the key details of the settlement as widely reported.
| Detail | Reported Figure |
|---|---|
| Length of marriage | 24 years |
| Year separated | 2014 |
| Year divorced | 2016 |
| Divorce settlement | Approx. $25 million |
| Monthly spousal support | Approx. $125,000 |
| Robert’s net worth at time of divorce | Approx. $200 million |
This kind of settlement is common in long-term, high-net-worth marriages, where courts consider shared contributions to household wealth, even when one spouse holds the higher public income. Diane’s decades of income as a medical practitioner also factored into the larger financial picture, though the bulk of the settlement stemmed from her ex-husband’s business fortune.
Ontario family law generally treats marital assets built during a marriage as shared property, regardless of whose name appears on the paperwork. In a marriage lasting close to a quarter of a century, courts typically look at the full picture: income earned by both spouses, property acquired together, and the non-financial contributions made by each side, including raising children and managing a household. Diane’s case followed this general framework, resulting in a settlement that reflected both her own career earnings and her share of the wealth Robert built during their marriage. High-asset divorce cases like this one often draw public interest simply because of the dollar figures involved, but the underlying legal process is not unusual for long marriages ending in wealthy households.
Diane Plese’s Net Worth
Diane Plese’s net worth is estimated at over $100 million. This comes primarily from her divorce settlement, combined with years of income earned through her optometry career. While she never publicly confirmed exact figures, most reports agree that her financial position remained strong and secure following the divorce.
Her case stands out as an example of a high-net-worth divorcee who built part of her wealth independently, through a stable professional career, rather than relying only on marital assets. That distinction matters. Diane entered the marriage already financially capable, and she left it with both a professional identity and a strong financial position.
Life After Divorce
Following the divorce, Diane Plese moved back to Canada with her children. She continued to keep her personal life away from public view. Several reports suggest she returned to her optometry work, staying active in the healthcare field rather than stepping away from her profession entirely.
She avoided social media entirely, choosing not to build any public online presence. This decision fits with her overall pattern throughout the marriage, the divorce, and the years since. Diane has consistently chosen privacy over publicity, even while her ex-husband remained a regular presence on television.
A short list of what is publicly known about her post-divorce life:
- She relocated back to Canada with her three children
- She reportedly resumed her optometry career
- She has never given a public interview about the marriage or divorce
- She holds no known social media accounts
- She continues to be described as a private, family-oriented professional
Robert Herjavec’s Life After the Divorce
For context, Robert Herjavec moved on publicly not long after the divorce was finalized. He married television personality and dancer Kym Johnson in 2016, the same year his divorce from Diane was completed. Robert has continued his business and television career since, remaining a regular face on Shark Tank.
This part of the story is often mentioned alongside Diane’s, since the two lives were connected for so long. But Diane’s own path after the marriage stayed separate from Robert’s public career, by her own choice.
Where Is Diane Plese Now?
As of recent reports, Diane Plese continues to live a quiet, private life in Canada. She is believed to remain close to her three adult children, Brendan, Skye, and Caprice. There is no confirmed public record of her current workplace or exact location, which fits the pattern she has followed for years.
Diane has not appeared in interviews, documentaries, or public events tied to her former marriage. Her choice to stay out of the spotlight has held steady for close to a decade since the divorce was finalized. For a woman once married to one of television’s most recognized investors, that level of privacy is uncommon and, by most accounts, intentional.
Conclusion
Diane Plese’s story is more than a footnote in her ex-husband’s biography. She built a real career as a licensed optometrist, raised three children, and handled a highly publicized divorce with quiet dignity. Her professional background in eye care gave her financial independence before fame ever entered her life, and that same independence carried her through a difficult divorce and into a private life afterward. Her story shows that a person connected to celebrity does not need to live inside the spotlight to have a full and meaningful life of her own.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who is Diane Plese? Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist best known as the former wife of businessman and TV personality Robert Herjavec.
2. How long were Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec married? They were married for approximately 24 years, from 1990 until their divorce was finalized in 2016.
3. How much did Diane Plese receive in her divorce settlement? Reports indicate she received close to $25 million, along with monthly spousal support estimated near $125,000.
4. Does Diane Plese have children? Yes, she has three children with Robert Herjavec: Brendan, Skye, and Caprice Herjavec.
5. What does Diane Plese do now? She is believed to have returned to her optometry career and continues to live privately in Canada, away from public attention.
