Hugh Jackman separates from from Deborra-Lee Furness after 27 years of marriage
After 27 years of marriage, one of Australia’s most enduring couples Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have split — now a source has indicated when the cracks began to appear.
Entertainment
Don't miss out on the headlines from Entertainment. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness have split after 27 years of marriage.
The news has sent shockwaves around the world as fans were left reeling and wondering what went wrong for one of Australia’s most enduring celebrity couples.
In the shock announcement, they released a joint statement confirming an end to their high-profile relationship.
“We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” they 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 adult children,` Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18, added that the announcement, released through PEOPLE, would be “the sole statement either of us will make”.
“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness,” they said.
“We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”
The news comes as Furness was recently photographed without her wedding ring just three days before they announced their divorce.
She was seen getting out of a black SUV on the streets of New York with a pinky ring — however, her wedding ring from Jackman was missing.
According to the New York Post’s Page Six, a source said Jackman and Furness’ split had been “a long time coming”.
“It happened a while ago. Friends and family knew about it,” the source said, adding it may have occurred as Jackman was on Broadway for The Music Man last year.
“Deb wasn’t at rehearsals very much,” the source said adding she “was even spotted snoozing during some of them”.
Another source told the Daily Mail their relationship was affected by Covid-19 lockdowns, and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes that have put their work on hold.
“After the past few years, the love they had for each other turned more into a friendship which got broken during Covid, as the lockdown didn’t help their marriage at all and really put a strain on their relationship,” the source said.
“They worked on it and couldn’t get it back. The strikes haven’t helped one bit, it got them in the same predicament as Covid did, to where they were just kicking the tires, and Hugh found it all to not have the same magic as they once had.
“Deb had similar concerns and thoughts and separating is the best option.”
Signing off with “Deb and Hugh Jackman”, the announcement brings an end to a love story that began in 1995 on the set of Aussie TV series, Corelli.
Jackman told of his deep his love for Furness which developed just weeks after they first met.
“I knew two weeks into meeting Deb that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives,” Jackman told Today in a 2018 interview.
Jackman also told PEOPLE how he told Furness about his feelings for her at a dinner party.
“I invited 20 people. She came over, and I said, ‘Deb, give me a hand with the dessert,’” he recalled.
“I said, ‘[I’ve] got a crush on you. I’ll get over it; I’m sorry.’ She goes, ‘Oh? Because I’ve got a crush on you too.’ I never in a million years thought she reciprocated.”
The pair married the next year in 1996 after he proposed just four months after they met.
They were seen together as recently as this summer at the men’s Wimbledon Final, a Pink concert in London, and in May attend The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Watching two great showmen 🤩#Wimbledon | @RealHughJackmanpic.twitter.com/pOXtdunhUl
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023
The split comes just months after the couple celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary, which Jackman marked on Instagram.
“I love you Deb. Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. 27 YEARS!! I love you so much. Together we have created a beautiful family. And life. Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me. I love you with all my heart,” Jackman wrote.
Marking the anniversary was a regular tradition for Jackman, who last year gushed on social media to celebrate 26 years.
“Today I celebrate 26 years of marriage to my extraordinary wife. Every single day is filled with so much laughter, joy and backgammon!”
Today I celebrate 26 years of marriage to my extraordinary wife. Every single day is filled with so much laughter, joy and backgammon! Deb you light up my life. I love you with all my heart! pic.twitter.com/Yq7tD2wpck
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) April 11, 2022
In 2018, Jackman said his wife, along with their kids, were “the greatest gift I will ever receive”.
“I believe in life we need to see and truly be seen by the most important people in our lives,” Jackman wrote on his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages. “Deb, from day one, we had that. 22 years later … it only gets deeper.”
When Jackman won a Special Tony Award in 2012 he also paid homage to his wife in a speech where they kissed.
“There is something I hold [in my heart] that is the reason why I’m here today, why any of this is possible… why any of this means anything, and that is because my incredible wife and kids support me,” he said.
“I love you with all my heart. I know how much you hate public speaking; this is probably the greatest thing you’ve ever done for me.”
No reason was given for the split, which came in a year Jackman beat another cancer scare. He announced on Instagram earlier this year he had two biopsies for spots on his nose that may have been basal cell carcinoma.
“My biopsies came back negative!!! Thank you ALL for the love. I feel it!” he wrote.
The couple battled to start a family and turned to adoption early on in their marriage.
Jackman has always supported Furness as a refugee and adoption advocate. She is one of the founding members of National Adoption Awareness Month and Adopt Change in Australia.
She is patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children in Melbourne a World Vision Ambassador, patron of the Bone Marrow Donor Institute for children with leukemia, patron of International Adoptive Families of Queensland and is on the board of World Wide Orphans Australia. She is also on the board of the UN Women for Peace Association in New York.
Jackman and Furness have also been part of the Global Citizen music festival in New York where they have spoken about the importance of family and fighting poverty.
Jackman, who is famous for his role as Wolverine, is about to reprise the role again in Deadpool 3 alongside his friend and social media rival Ryan Reynolds. The movie has been on hold since the writers strike in Hollywood.
Fans have expressed shock and disbelief at the news via the comments section of Jackman’s Facebook and Instagram pages, which have now been limited.
“If this couple can break up, there is no hope for love for the rest of the world... Sad to hear about their split after 27 years marriage,” one fan wrote.
“Sorry to hear things are coming to an end with you and Deborrah. Thinking of you both. Love from Australia,” wrote another.
“I’m truly shook by the news.”
“You guys were my favourite couple. I just can’t believe it!”
Some fans were hoping the news would be confirmed false.
“Please let this rumour be just that - a rumour,” wrote one.
“Surely can’t be the end between you and your wife.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Hugh Jackman separates from from Deborra-Lee Furness after 27 years of marriage
Join the conversation
Model moves on with actor’s son after split
Model Kaia Gerber was spotted on a date night with the son of a Hollywood star just weeks after her break-up with Austin Butler.
Read more
Another major Aussie music festival axed
More grim news for Australian music festivals, with yet another giant of the scene confirming they won’t go ahead this year.
Read more