Diane Plese is a Canadian optometrist who gained public recognition through her long-standing marriage to entrepreneur and television personality Robert Herjavec. Although much of the public interest surrounding her comes from her connection to the Shark Tank investor, Plese has also been described as a medical professional who built her own career in optometry before and during her marriage.
Unlike many people connected to television celebrities, Diane Plese has generally maintained a private lifestyle. Publicly available information about her current activities, personal relationships, and professional life is limited, so some frequently repeated online claims should be treated cautiously.
Early Life and Family Background
Diane Plese was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1959, according to several biographical sources. Reports also describe her as having Croatian family roots, although detailed information about her parents, siblings, childhood, and upbringing has not been extensively documented in authoritative public sources.
Her Croatian heritage became particularly relevant during her marriage to Robert Herjavec, whose own family background is Croatian. The couple reportedly married in a Croatian church in Ontario in 1990, reflecting a shared cultural connection.
Education and Medical Career
Diane Plese pursued a professional career in optometry, a healthcare field focused on vision and eye care. Available biographical accounts state that she completed her education and became a doctor in the early 1980s before practicing professionally for several years.
Her career is an important part of her story because she was professionally established before her relationship with Robert Herjavec became associated with public attention. However, detailed information about the institutions she attended, her qualifications, and the precise history of her practice is not consistently documented across reliable sources.
How Diane Plese Met Robert Herjavec
Diane Plese reportedly met Robert Herjavec in the 1980s when he visited her clinic for an eye appointment. At the time, Herjavec was still developing his professional career and was not yet the internationally recognizable entrepreneur and television personality he would later become.
The meeting eventually developed into a romantic relationship, and the couple married in 1990. Their relationship began well before Herjavec became a familiar face on business television, meaning Plese was part of his life during the earlier stages of his entrepreneurial journey.
Marriage to Robert Herjavec
Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec were married for more than two decades. During their marriage, Herjavec built a successful career in technology and entrepreneurship, eventually becoming known for founding BRAK Systems and later establishing the Herjavec Group.
In 2000, Herjavec marked a significant achievement in his business career when he sold BRAK Systems to AT&T Canada for an estimated $30.2 million. He subsequently became a television personality through programs including Canada’s Dragons’ Den and the American series Shark Tank.
Family and Children
Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec have three children together: Brendan, Caprice, and Skye. These three children are Herjavec’s eldest children, while he later had twins, Hudson and Haven, with his second wife, Kym Johnson.
The Plese-Herjavec family largely lived outside the intense celebrity culture associated with Hollywood. Even as Robert became increasingly recognizable through television, Diane generally remained away from the spotlight and focused much of her attention on family and her private life.
Diane Plese as a Mother
Motherhood became an important part of Diane Plese’s life during her marriage. Some biographical accounts report that she eventually stepped away from active optometry practice to devote more time to raising her children, although the exact timing and extent of her professional transition are not comprehensively documented.
Her three children have since developed their own professional and personal identities. Brendan Herjavec, in particular, has pursued a career in business and strategy, while information about Caprice and Skye has remained comparatively private.
Separation and Divorce
The marriage between Diane Plese and Robert Herjavec eventually came to an end after more than two decades. The couple separated in July 2014, and their divorce was finalized in 2016.
Their separation attracted significant media attention because of Herjavec’s growing public profile. The divorce also became notable because of the financial settlement associated with the end of their marriage, making the case one of the more closely discussed aspects of Plese’s public biography.
Divorce Settlement
Reports about the financial outcome of the divorce have circulated widely, with sources stating that Diane Plese ultimately received approximately $25 million from the marriage. A later court ruling reported in 2019 required Herjavec to pay additional sums that brought the total received by his former wife to that figure.
Because divorce settlements can involve multiple payments, property interests, support arrangements, and court decisions, simplified figures published by celebrity-biography websites do not always provide the complete legal picture. The widely reported $25 million figure should therefore be understood as a reported overall settlement amount rather than evidence of Diane Plese’s current personal net worth.
Life After Divorce
Following the divorce, Diane Plese has largely stayed out of the public eye. Unlike Robert Herjavec, who continued to appear on television and remained active in business media, Plese did not pursue a similarly public celebrity profile.
This privacy makes it difficult to provide a definitive account of her present-day career, residence, relationships, or lifestyle. Recent online articles sometimes claim specific details about where she lives or what she currently does, but those claims are not consistently supported by strong primary sources.
Robert Herjavec’s Life After Diane Plese
After his divorce from Diane Plese, Robert Herjavec began a relationship with Australian ballroom dancer Kym Johnson, whom he met while participating in Dancing with the Stars. The couple became engaged in 2016 and married in Los Angeles on July 31 of that year.
Robert and Kym later became parents to twins, Hudson and Haven, born in April 2018. This means that Herjavec has five children in total: three from his marriage to Diane Plese and two with Kym Johnson.
Diane Plese and Public Attention
Much of Diane Plese’s public recognition comes from her connection to one of Canada’s best-known business personalities. Robert Herjavec’s appearances on Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den brought his personal history additional attention, which naturally increased interest in his former marriage and family.
Nevertheless, describing Diane solely as Robert Herjavec’s former wife overlooks her professional background. She had an established career in optometry and was a parent of three children long before her divorce became a subject of media coverage.
Is Diane Plese an Ophthalmologist or Optometrist?
Diane Plese is generally identified in available biographies as an optometrist, rather than an ophthalmologist. Optometrists provide eye examinations and vision care, while ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialize in eye medicine and surgery.
Some websites have inaccurately or inconsistently described Plese as an ophthalmologist. The more consistently reported description is that she worked as an optometrist, making that the safer characterization when discussing her professional background.
Diane Plese’s Net Worth
There is no reliably verified public figure for Diane Plese’s current net worth. Numerous celebrity and biography websites publish estimates, sometimes placing her wealth at very high amounts, but these figures generally lack transparent financial documentation.
The reported divorce settlement is often used as the basis for online net-worth estimates, but a settlement amount and a person’s present net worth are not the same thing. Without verified information about her assets, investments, income, and expenses, assigning a precise current net worth would be speculative.
Personal Life and Privacy
One of the defining characteristics of Diane Plese’s public image is her preference for privacy. There is comparatively little reliable information about her current romantic life, social-media activity, daily routine, or professional engagements following her divorce.
That lack of information should not be interpreted as evidence that she has withdrawn completely from professional or social life. It simply means that she has not maintained the kind of public profile that makes those details readily available.
Diane Plese’s Connection to Robert Herjavec’s Success
Diane was married to Robert Herjavec during a formative period of his professional development. Their marriage began in 1990, before Herjavec sold BRAK Systems and before he became a television investor.
As a result, her biography is closely connected to the earlier chapters of Herjavec’s business story. At the same time, it is important not to portray her merely as an accessory to his success, since her own professional background in optometry preceded and existed independently of his later celebrity status.
Where Is Diane Plese Now?
Diane Plese has continued to maintain a low public profile, and there is limited reliable information about her current activities. Some recent biography sites describe her as living privately in Canada, but detailed confirmation of her present residence or professional status is not readily available from authoritative sources.
For that reason, the most accurate description of her current life is that she remains largely private. Unlike her former husband, she has not built a public-facing career around television appearances, social media, or business commentary.
Diane Plese: Key Facts
Diane Plese was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1959 and is known professionally as an optometrist. She married Robert Herjavec in 1990 after reportedly meeting him through an eye appointment, and the couple had three children: Brendan, Caprice, and Skye.
The couple separated in 2014 and divorced in 2016 after more than two decades of marriage. Plese subsequently remained largely out of the public spotlight, while Herjavec continued his career as an entrepreneur and television personality and later married Kym Johnson.
Final Thoughts
Diane Plese’s story is more than a biography of Robert Herjavec’s former wife. She was a Canadian optometrist with her own professional identity, became the mother of three children, and spent more than two decades married to an entrepreneur whose career eventually brought him international recognition.
Her life also demonstrates the difference between being connected to celebrity and actively pursuing celebrity. While her marriage and divorce generated substantial public interest, Diane has largely chosen privacy, leaving many details of her life undocumented and allowing her professional and family history to speak louder than publicity.
