Finding The One. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have raised the bar for other couples with their love story.
The twosome started dating shortly after they met on the set of the Australian TV series Correlli in 1995. The actor later recalled the immediate connection that he felt after crossing paths with Furness, telling Today in 2018, “I knew two weeks into meeting Deb that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives.”
One year earlier, the Les Misérables star broke down his first thoughts when he met his now-wife. “Deb, she was a big star,” he told Jess Cagle in 2017. “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.’”
Jackman and Furness’ romance wasn’t smooth-sailing at the beginning. They faced some obstacles when the actress started to grow concerned about their 13-year age difference.
“She kind of [broke up with me], a little bit,” the Greatest Showman star revealed on the “Aussies in Hollywood with Jenny Cooney” podcast in 2018. “I just knew 100 percent; I even knew when she was trying to work out reasons to break up with me.”
Following their brief split, the pair exchanged vows in 1996 and went on to expand their family with son Oscar and daughter Ava. Jackman and Furness have offered glimpses into their dynamic over the years.
“I feel blessed that I experienced that I feel like I met my soulmate, whatever that is,” the Fire alum said on Anh’s Brush With Fame in October 2020. “When you find a partner in crime that you share and you grow together — and life is tough, as we know it, it’s not all good — and when you have someone there that is so supportive you can really stand buck naked. You have to.”
She continued: “When you’ve got kids and life and whatever, you stand there buck naked, authentic, warts and all, this is who it is, and you’re loved, there’s nothing better.”
Following two decades of marriage, Furness opened up about how she laughs away rumors regarding her relationship.
“Hugh’s been gay for whatever, I mean, hello guys – if he was gay, he could be gay!” she joked during the “Not an Overnight Success” podcast in April 2022, referring to the speculation about her husband’s sexuality. “He didn’t have to hide in the closet anymore, and he’d be dating Brad Pitt, or whatever. Not that Brad’s gay, but you know what I’m saying!”
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