Hugh Jackman’s Wife Speaks Out For 1st Time About Their ‘Gut-Wrenching’ Divorce

What did Deborra-Lee Furness say about her divorce from Hugh Jackman?

In an episode of “The Kyle & Jackie O Show,” hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson cold-called Deborra-Lee. “We have actually called you by mistake, it’s ridiculous,” Kyle told Deborra-Lee, via Daily Mail.

“We didn’t mean to actually call you. But now you’re here, we won’t go into it. We love you, we hope you’re well.”

Deborra-Lee simply responded, “Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. You’re really sweet.”

“I just feel it’s too soon,” Kyle added. “I don’t want to get involved in anything. But we love you, and you ring us when you want to chat.”

“Thank you, guys. I really, really appreciate it,” the actress said again before hanging up.

Why did Hugh Jackman & Deborra Lee-Furness divorce?

A source explained to Page Six that while the public was shocked to hear of Hugh and Deborra-Lee’s split, it could have been coming for longer than we thought. A Broadway insider said, “It happened a while ago. Friends and family knew about it.”

Another source to Us Weekly that the two remain amicable. “Hugh and Deb just reached a point where they were more like best friends,” the source explained. “There was no drama or fighting — not that anyone is aware of, anyway.”

The insider also added that the split will be difficult since they were “so interwoven” over the years. “It’s an extremely tricky and gut-wrenching process dividing everything up and figuring out who gets what in terms of assets and finances,” the source explained. “The [divorce] filing will be formalized in due course, but before that happens, their aim is to come to an agreement. They’re determined to [do this] as amicably as possible.”

The two met when they co-starred in the Australian TV show Corelli. “Deb, she was a big star…I get picked up, and Deb is in the front seat of the car. I’ll never forget,” Hugh recalled to People. “She took off her seatbelt and she turned around and put out her hand and took off her sunglasses and said, ‘Hi, I’m Deborra-lee Furness, nice to meet you.’ I remember thinking, ‘I like this girl.’”

Everyone else on the crew had the same idea. “She was the star. I had this major crush on her,” Jackman told Ellen DeGeneres in 2016. “Everyone did. The whole crew had a crush on her.” Jackman later admitted his feelings for Furness and the couple got married about a year later.

On the key to a long-lasting marriage, Hugh gushed about meeting his wife. Literally from day one, Deb and I had that feeling. It was like a relief. I could just be myself,” he told TODAY. “I am not saying we don’t ever dress up or impress each other, but being comfortable is a key.”

Just a month prior, Jackman told Smooth Radio about the secret to a happy, long-lasting marriage. “I think honesty and intimacy and making time. You can’t just assume that things will just tick along. You have to make time. And intimacy is about really sharing what you’re going through, feelings and checking in with the other person, checking in what they need from you, checking in, how they’re doing, checking and beyond,” he said.

He continued: “Just because it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of life. That’s hard enough. Kids, school runs, whatever it is, sleepless nights, it’s tiring. So you have to be checking in with each other. We have time together every morning, so we make sure of that as the day can get away from you. And sometimes in the evening, I’m sorry, that’s not the best version of me by the evening. I’m tired, I want to check out. I run out of words for the day. They say men have 2,000 words a day.”

Some sources told the National Enquirer, via RadarOnline, about who initiated the divorce. “Hugh and Debs want everyone to believe it was a carefully thought-out, mutual decision to divorce, but the truth is this is the last thing he wanted and he’s totally heartsick,” the insider dished. “The guy adored his wife. She was the center of his entire world and he’s totally lost without her.”