Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman and his now estranged wife Deborra-Lee Furness announced earlier this week that the couple would be separating. They mentioned that the reason for their separation was that their individual journeys were changing and that they would like to pursue it independently.
Sources close to the couple have now claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was a major cause for Jackman and Furness’ marriage to break and that the couple just stopped feeling the magic.
Hugh Jackman And Deborra-Lee Furness’ Marriage
Before Hugh Jackman became known to the world as Logan a.k.a Wolverine in the X-Men series, he was a relatively unknown actor in Australia. At the time, the actor was mostly performing on stage, apart from occasional appearances on TV shows. One such television appearance was in the short-lived series Correlli.
Jackman got the call to appear in the series on the night of his final performance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. The series was also where he would meet his future wife Deborra-Lee Furness. Furness at the time was already a star in Australia. She had been an on-air reporter for Channel 9 and had starred in films such as Shame and TV shows such as Stark and Fire.
Hugh Jackman recounted their first meeting in an interview with People magazine,
“Deb, she was a big star…I get picked up, and Deb is in the front seat of the car. I’ll never forget. 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.’”
The two married a year later in 1996. Being one of Hollywood’s most loved couples, the pair expressed their love and appreciation to each other on their 27th wedding anniversary earlier this year. They even appeared together at the Met Gala and attended the Wimbledon finals this year.
Why Are Hugh Jackman And Deborra-Lee Furness Separating?
In an official statement to People magazine, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announced that they would be separating. The statement read,
“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.”
However, a source close to the couple revealed to Daily Mail that the pair had started developing issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The source also reported that the WGA and SAG-AFRA strikes also deeply affected their marriage.
“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.”
Jackman and Furness are parents to two children that they have adopted. The couple has cited the statement above that it would be their sole statement about their divorce.
Source: Daily Mail
