Daniel Johns and Natalie Imbruglia reveal why they split

The former couple have delved into the reasons behind their shock divorce in 2008 in a new podcast interview.

Daniel Johns and Natalie Imbruglia have opened up about their shock split, finally revealing the reason they called time on their five-year marriage.

The former couple were both interviewed for the latest episode of new podcast Who Is Daniel Johns?, reconnecting during the recorded session for “the first time in a while”.

Imbruglia and Johns wed in 2003, but parted ways in 2008, with Johns describing it as “the best marriage ever” on the podcast.

The musicians explained that, with both working incredibly hard on their careers, they found themselves having to spend a lot of time apart.

“Oh, it was really, really hard, it’s a difficult time to talk about and to be honest, I just remember trying … just trying to get things back on track … and sometimes there isn’t a way through it and that’s where we found ourselves, I’m afraid,” Imbruglia, 46, told podcast host Kaitlin Sawrey.

“He was the love of my life and I think in time you realise that’s a really special thing and you look back on it fondly, and it doesn’t come around that often that you can both feel that way about each other … it’s not something that is necessarily repeatable in that way … it’s a beautiful thing.”

Imbruglia and Johns in Sydney in 2000.

Johns, 42, admitted that the split was “probably the best thing that could have happened” as their lives began to move in different directions.

“She wanted to settle down and have babies and she wanted to do normal stuff and I just wanted to get weirder, so we just kind of disappeared from each other,” he said.

“She taught me how to be a man, you know … I met her when I was 19, at risk of sounding sentimental.”

Album art for Spotify's new podcast Whio is Daniel Johns?. Picture: Supplied

The exes also opened up about how they first met, with Imbruglia revealing she made the first move on the “very shy” musician after meeting him backstage at a Silverchair gig in London.

“I remember he was struggling to make eye contact, but we did have an instant connection,” she said. “I just knew, ‘he’s not going to come over and say hello, even though he knows who I am, so I’m going to have to make this happen.’”

The Torn singer added that the early stages of their relationship felt like they were “just in a little bubble”.

In Who is Daniel Johns? the rock star and his industry colleagues reflect on his life and career – having catapulted to fame at just 15 when the band’s single Tomorrow was released in 1992.

The star couple announced their split in 2008.

In an interview with The Projectto promote the podcast last month, Johns spoke of his shortcomings during his relationship with Imbruglia, and admitted they hadn’t spoken for a decade after their marriage ended.

“When we were married, I was in my 20s. I was incapable of learning how to be responsible. I didn’t know how to use a phone. I was touring all the time,” he told the hosts.

“And then, I don’t know, I took it of my own volition and said, ‘Why are we not talking?’ I didn’t really understand and she was like, ‘I don’t know why we’re not talking either!’”

Who Is Daniel Johns? is available to stream now on Spotify.