There’s no question that it’s been an emotional few years for Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness. But while the recent finalisation of their divorce should have been a chance for the exes to draw a line in the sand and get on with their lives, a milestone anniversary is prolonging their pain, and forcing them to relive their past.
It has just gone 30 years since the pair’s first professional endeavour together, the TV series Correlli, premiered.
While Hugh, 56, has now moved on with his new partner, Sutton Foster, it’s said he is saddened by this very public reminder of such a pivotal personal chapter. Ditto Deb, who is still feeling the sting of what she called “the betrayal” of their marriage split.
Indeed, there’s no doubt that both stars will be dreading the emotions that resurface as they are forced to recall special memories of their time on set.
Insiders say Deb, 69, could also be nervous that the milestone may also highlight the fact that Correlli saw the beginning of Hugh’s stellar acting career, while her own took a back seat not long after.
“Yes, Deb’s done some incredibly inspiring things in her life,” says a source, “but she was definitely the bigger name when she met Hugh, and that reminder would surely sting”.
Indeed, Correlli was a star vehicle for Deb, while it was one of Hugh’s first roles after leaving drama school. The show ran for 10 episodes on the ABC, from July to September 1995.
Their characters, jailed armed robber Kevin Jones and prison psychologist Louisa Correlli, enter into a romantic relationship, and the actors also became involved in real life.
Hugh proposed after just four months, telling Today in 2018 that he knew he and Deb were “going to be together for the rest of our lives”.
The couple married in April 1996 and share two children, Oscar, 25, and Ava, 20.
But, after nearly three decades, Hugh and Deb issued a shock statement in 2023, announcing the end of their marriage.
They told fans they had decided to “separate to pursue our individual growth”.
For Hugh it meant moving on with his former The Music Man co-star Sutton Foster.
For Deb, that growth has meant a return to the arts.
“I’ve got some projects in New York. I’m in my chapter three,” she told the Herald Sun this year.
While this latest reminder of her former life is bound to be niggling her, Deb is trying to stay buoyant and ignore the anniversary as best she can – getting on with that new “chapter”.
