Celebrity break-up 2023: Hugh Jackman, Kylie Minogue, Moana Hope, Carrie Bickmore
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness weren’t the only celebrity couple who left fans reeling when they decided to go their separate ways. Here are this year’s most notable splits.
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For some, 2023 hasn’t been a kind year in the love stakes. Some marriage bust-ups have come as complete shocks while other relationships that fizzled weren’t as surprising. From musicians and actors to TV stars and athletes, here’s a look at some of the year’s most notable splits.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness
After 27 years of marriage and two children, Jackman and Furness announced their separation on September 15.
The news sent shockwaves around the world as fans were left reeling and wondering what went wrong for one of Australia’s most enduring celebrity couples.
They released a joint statement confirming an end to their high-profile relationship.
“We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” the statement said.
“Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”
Jackman, 54, and Furness, 67, who share two adopted adult children, Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18, added that the announcement, released through PEOPLE, would be “the sole statement either of us will make”.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Cameron McGlinchey
Australian darling Bassingthwaighte announced her split from former bandmate and husband of 13 years in August.
The pair, who relocated from Melbourne to Byron Bay before Covid, reportedly split late last year and co-parent daughter Harper, 13, and son Hendrix, 10.
They first met while working in Aussie rock band Rogue Traders, which formed in Melbourne in 2002.
Bassingthwaighte, who has since moved on with stage manager Pip Loth, said: “I think there’s a perception that if your marriage is over, or something is over, it’s a failure. I don’t believe that at all. We had a very successful marriage. It was very beautiful. We’ve done amazing things together, achieved a lot and have two incredible children. We admire and respect each other, and there’s love there”.
Carrie Bickmore and Chris Walker
Just a month after leaving her long-time spot as host of The Project, Bickmore announced her split from partner of 10 years, television producer Walker.
The pair confirmed the news in a statement shared to their Instagram stories in January.
“Hi there. It’s with immense sadness that (Chris) and I have decided to separate,” the post began.
“While this is a tough time, our focus is to concentrate on parenting, loving and supporting our three amazing children, Ollie, Evie and Addie with everything we’ve got. They are doing great.”
Walker and 42-year-old Bickmore met on the set of The Project in 2012, about two years after the Adelaide-born TV star suffered the tragic loss of her first husband, Greg Lange, to brain cancer.
The couple took a break from their respective TV roles to live in the UK for a school term in 2022.
The shocking separation came after Walker stripped naked in front of colleagues in 2022, wrongly believing he had logged off a Skype call.
Moana Hope and Isabella Carlstrom
Former AFLW player Moana Hope confirmed her separation from model wife Isabella Carlstrom in May, after four years of marriage and each giving birth to a child via IVF.
Carlstrom said her split from Hope came with a heavy heart, explaining the couple has decided to “consciously uncouple”.
“It’s with a heavy heart that Mo and I have decided to separate,’’ she wrote on social media.
“We will continue to raise our beautiful kids together as we consciously uncouple. We appreciate all the love and support over the years, thank you.”
Hope also confirmed the situation with a post asking for privacy. “Bell and I have separated,’’ she posted.
“I understand that I live a public life and people may have questions, and whilst I live my life candidly, my main priority at this time is our beautiful children and I ask that you respect my privacy.
“We will continue to co-parent as we transition to this new phase of our lives. I appreciate all the love and support I have received.”
Maria Thattil and Jorgia O’Hare
Miss Universe Australia Thattil has dated a number of men, but it wasn’t until January when she appeared on the cover of Stellar magazine with then-girlfriend TikToker O’Hare that she spoke about her love life.
“I have never publicly shared who I dated before this year. I’m generally a very private person,” Thattil said.
“When I became Miss Universe, I intentionally asked people I dated to keep it private because I didn’t want to be talked about as someone’s girlfriend.”
The author, podcaster, and actor confirmed in May that she and O’Hare had broken up.
In 2022, she outted herself as bisexual on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!.
In September, Thattil and AFLW player Moana Hope confirmed they were in a relationship.
Kylie Minogue and Paul Solomons
Pop Queen Minogue split from her British boyfriend of five years in February – just a year after making her return home to Melbourne.
The former Neighbours star ended her relationship with London-based magazine executive Solomons, The Sun reported, as she continued to work on her world tour.
The pair, who still follow one another on Instagram, were last pictured together on the red carpet of the ABBA Voyage in May. In 2021 the couple – introduced through mutual friends in 2018 – were forced to spend nine months apart due to Covid, with Kylie holed-up Down Under and magazine mogul, Paul, in the UK. Mingoue’s June release of synthy dance banger Padam Padam in June saw her top music charts around the world for the first time since 2014, with everyone who assumed the 55-year-old’s attention was solely on her multi-million-pound wine company being proven wrong.
Leisel Jones and Damon Martin
Aussie swimming icon Jones separated from husband Martin in November. The Olympic legend confirmed the marriage breakdown after a relationship of more than seven years and the 38-year-old said they are both “extremely heartbroken”. “We have separated. It’s incredibly sad news,” she said on her Brisbane Triple M radio show. “I have the deepest respect for Damo. It’s a very sad situation for both of us and a very hard decision to come to. So it is a very sad announcement, and I’m out in the wilderness on my own. I’m actually OK. We had done a lot of work beforehand, we put a lot of effort in.” The pair first began dating in 2016 and got engaged in 2017 when Martin popped the question during a trip in New York. They were married in 2018 during a “low key” ceremony in the Southern Highlands near Sydney.
Wayne Carey and Catie O’Neill
The footy legend was first seen with attractive businesswoman O’Neill in January at the Bundalong tavern where Carey was the guest speaker. O’Neill, who boasts a big social media following and is the director of beauty brands My Glow 2 and Huxden, posted a hint of her romance on Instagram in March. It was the first relationship for father of three Carey since his white powder scandal in 2022. He had got kicked out of Perth’s Crown Casino in September after he was found to be carrying a zip-lock bag full of white powder, and subsequently lost his media gigs. By August it had emerged the pair had gone their separate ways with Carey reportedly now back together with Jessica Paulke, the mother of his third child. O’Neill is still on the social scene but hasn’t publicly moved on with anyone.
Campbell Brown and Jess Johnston
It emerged in November that former footy star, commentator and podcaster Brown had separated from wife Jess after 10 years of marriage. The Hawthorn premiership player and wife Jess had welcomed the birth of their third son, Bailey, in late August. It was reported that Brown fell out of love as they seek to co-parent their three children. Just this month he headed to Argentina in an attempt to climb Mt Aconcagua but strong winds forced the mission to be abandoned.
Olivia Rogers and Morgan Waterhouse
There was first speculation in March that the former Miss Universe Australia had hooked up with the model and it was confirmed in April when they went insta-official. They were dating for more than seven months with Rogers confirming in November that they’d quietly called it quits. It was her first relationship since separating from her husband Justin McKeone in October 2022, after eight months of marriage. She had met Waterhouse through her best friend, top stylist Paul Versace from Styled by Bloom.
Glen Boss and wife Sloane
The champion jockey split from his wife of almost three decades earlier this year. Boss and Sloane, a former catwalk model, share two adult children. Boss did not respond to a request for comment and Sloane said it was “really nobody’s business”. “It’s personal — it’s between Glen and I,” she said. Boss, who famously won three successive Melbourne Cups as well a Cox Plate aboard mighty mare Makybe Diva, is now seeing prominent businesswoman Sandy Cowell, a millionaire Gold Coast property developer.
Deborra-Lee Furness makes it a family affair at Aus Open
Deborra-Lee Furness has been all smiles at Melbourne Park with her daughter, Ava, as more pictures emerged of her ex-husband Hugh Jackman with his new girlfriend.
Cheeky flirting between Alex de Minaur and fiancee Katie Boulter
Aussie tennis star Alex de Minaur and his fiancee Katie Boulter have made their flirting game public, with Boulter leading 15-love.