Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness breaks her silence following shock split

Jackman and Furness confirmed earlier this month that they were separating after nearly 30 years together
Lisa McLoughlin 26 September 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Deborra-Lee Furness has spoken for the first time since announcing her split from Hugh Jackman after Aussie radio duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson accidentally called her.

Jackman and Furness confirmed earlier this month that they were separating after nearly 30 years together.

The broadcasters explained live on-air that they “didn’t mean” to call the actress, 67, but shared that they were thinking of her.

Sandilands said: “We have actually called you by mistake, it’s ridiculous. Seriously, this isn’t a stitch-up.”

Australian radio DJ Kyle Sandilands spoke to the actress on Tuesday
KIIS FM

“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.”

To which Furness said: “Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. You’re really sweet.”

Sandilands continued: “I just feel it’s too soon. 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,” she told the pair before hanging up.

Jackman and his wife have been married since 1996. They share two adopted children – a boy called Oscar, who is 23, and a girl named Ava, 18.

The pair confirmed they were separating with a joint statement made earlier this month.

The statement reads: “We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.

“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”

Jackman said recently, while out and about in New York, that he was finding the separation “tough” – adding it had been on the cards for “a long time”.

Documenting his life post-split, the Wolverine actor took to social media on Sunday to capture his rainy woodland walk in New York state.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in