Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announce shock split - 9 News Australia
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00:00 It's time now for our weekend cover story and the world is in shock this morning after
00:03 news dropped overnight that Hugh Jackman and Debra Lee Furness are ending their marriage
00:08 of almost 30 years.
00:10 So the pair met in Australia, they announced their separation in a statement confirming
00:14 that their relationship is ending on good terms.
00:16 For more let's bring in entertainment reporter Sam Rubin in Hollywood.
00:19 Sam, good morning.
00:20 It's a real shock, what did they have to say in that statement?
00:25 People were really, really surprised to hear this news and this is the kind of thing that
00:30 was obviously planned and arranged.
00:33 So too this statement shared with People Magazine among the other outlets.
00:36 I think we'll share the statement with you on the screen and I'll read it to you.
00:39 This is not a statement between combatants but rather a loving couple who has decided
00:44 to part company.
00:45 We've been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful
00:50 loving marriage.
00:52 Our journey now is shifting and we've decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.
00:58 Our family has been and always will be our highest priority.
01:00 We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love and kindness.
01:04 We great really appreciate your understanding and respecting our privacy as our family navigates
01:09 this transition in all of our lives.
01:11 Deb and Hugh Jackman concluding, this is the sole statement either of us will make.
01:16 I think a lot of people are going to look to that one sentence, our journey is now shifting
01:22 and we've decided to pursue, to separate to pursue our individual growth.
01:27 What does that mean and what does that refer to?
01:30 The couple had been seen, you know, they were staples here in Hollywood certainly and elsewhere
01:35 around the world.
01:36 They went to the Met Gala together.
01:37 They went to Wimbledon together.
01:40 So a couple married almost 30 years, 27 years of marriage.
01:44 This comes as an extraordinary surprise.
01:46 And it's really sad Sam.
01:48 I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels a bit sad hearing this news this morning.
01:51 Although they do, as you said, appear to be still very respectful of each other.
01:56 We know they only recently celebrated a wedding anniversary.
01:59 There's going to be a lot of speculation but is there any idea of what might have led to
02:04 the split?
02:07 I don't know necessarily.
02:09 I mean, you know, these are the typical things that in an area of Hollywood that houses a
02:14 lot of psychologists and marriage counseling types.
02:17 You know, people grow apart after a period of time.
02:21 Hugh obviously busy working with his career.
02:23 What's so interesting is the reversal of fortune when they met so many years ago, nearly 30
02:28 years ago.
02:30 People might remember this a limited series from Australia called Corelli.
02:34 Deborah was already a star.
02:35 She was one of the leads in the show.
02:37 Hugh just out of drama school, he played a prisoner.
02:41 She played a therapist helping the prisoner.
02:44 When they met in a transportation van taking them to set, she turned around.
02:49 Hugh said at first blush, he said, I really like this girl.
02:52 They got married less than a year later.
02:55 An age difference between the two.
02:56 She is 13 years older than Hugh Jackman.
02:59 And look at how his star has risen all around the world over the ensuing decades.
03:04 And she always there to support him.
03:07 So again, I think it comes as a surprise and a disappointment, but at least it's not that
03:12 sort of tabloid catcalling of one another.
03:15 Obviously a crafted and thoughtful statement.
03:17 They have asked for privacy in that statement, but by virtue of what they do, they are very
03:22 public people.
03:23 Do we expect to hear or see more from them?
03:28 You know what, Craig, that's a very interesting point.
03:31 And so in the weeks and months ahead, and I'm only using this phrase, not that anyone
03:37 has brought it up, does a third party emerge and say, oh, there's something else happening
03:43 here.
03:44 Or if there are legal documents, often they are very revealing.
03:47 But I think, and many Hollywood couples have done this, I think you can be very careful
03:51 about those things.
03:53 So maybe as they both said, this is the last they will speak of it.
03:57 Maybe that's it.
03:58 And it is the last that they'll speak of it.
04:00 Or maybe there'll be some other indication of what ultimately happened that made them
04:05 make a decision like this, a decision they've obviously shared with the public, and one
04:09 that I think is greeted with disappointment.
04:13 You know, again, people go their own way.
04:14 But after 27 years together, I think people here in Hollywood and around the world are
04:19 sorry to hear this.
04:20 Yeah, they've really been like the poster couple for a happy marriage in Hollywood.
04:24 There's sort of not many couples you can think about, you can name, that have been together
04:27 that long.
04:29 What do you think is next for them?
04:32 Well, he's a busy actor, Tony Award winner.
04:36 I think Hugh Jackman is one of the rare who can really write his own ticket.
04:40 Supposedly, Wolverine is making yet another appearance.
04:44 So I think once the strikes are over, he has, you know, that's another thing that's worthy
04:48 of mentioning.
04:49 This is a time when many, many people are sidelined.
04:52 People like Hugh Jackman, who normally would be very, very busy, effectively haven't been
04:57 working for a while.
04:58 Does that give you additional time for thought and reflection and maybe choosing new paths?
05:03 I don't necessarily know.
05:05 But Hugh Jackman professionally is far from done and obviously has a big film career,
05:11 stage career if he wants it.
05:12 Deborah has agreed, as I think in recent years, worked much, much less.
05:18 And you know, I'm sure there are a variety of paths she could pursue as well.
05:21 I don't think we've heard the last from the two of them as individuals, but very likely
05:25 I've heard the last of the two of them as a couple.
05:27 Hey Sam, not just big news in Hollywood, but right here in Australia too.
05:30 Thanks so much for your time on Weekend Today.
05:32 Well, shock news this morning for a much-loved Aussie power couple, Hugh Jackman and Deborah
05:36 Lee Furness calling time on their near 30-year marriage.
05:40 US correspondent Lauren Tomasi joins us with more.
05:43 Lauren, what have they had to say?
05:45 Hugh Jackman and Deborah Lee Furness announcing that separation via a statement.
05:49 Sophie, the pair saying that they are moving forward with both gratitude and love after
05:54 27 years of marriage.
05:56 For decades, both Jackman and Furness have been such a loved couple by Australians and
06:01 also by everyone here in Hollywood in the United States.
06:05 They actually met back in 1995 on the set of an Australian TV drama, Corelli.
06:11 And a year later, they went on to wed in 1996 and adopted two children together.
06:17 They've been such a mainstay on the red carpet over the years, from the Oscars to the Met
06:21 Gala.
06:22 And just this April, they celebrated 27 years of marriage.
06:26 Their separation is said to be very amicable.
06:29 The pair putting out a statement via People magazine here in the United States, where
06:33 they are based.
06:34 They said, "We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and
06:39 wife in a wonderful, loving marriage.
06:41 Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."
06:47 Their statement today was signed off by both of the pair and ended by saying that this
06:51 would be the sole statement they are making, Sophie.
06:54 Okay, Lauren, thank you.
06:56 Thank you.
06:57 Thank you.
06:57 Thank you.
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