They might not be as tabloid-friendly as some celebrity marriages in Tinseltown, but Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, have now quietly shared one of the best marriages in Hollywood. They got married in 1996, before Jackman became a superstar with his beloved turn as Wolverine in the X-Men movies.
Since then, Hugh Jackman has become an Emmy, Tony and Grammy-winning (and Oscar-nominated) actor, with no shortage of celebrity and high acclaim throughout his distinctive career. While other Hollywood marriages break apart due to the pressures that come with the beaming spotlight of fame and notoriety, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness continue to keep their love in bloom. And like most long-term relationships, especially Hollywood ones, it didn't happen easily.
In the 23 years since the actor and actress first said their "I dos," Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have gone on to become one of the most committed married couples in Hollywood. But admittedly, there's not a whole lot written about their decades-long relationship.
While there are tons of articles exploring Hugh Jackman's successes and career achievements, Jackman's long-standing marriage to his wife is disregarded — surprisingly, but also understandably — in terms of all his accomplishments. In this article, we'll take a moment to explore the different reasons why Jackman and Furness have become one of Hollywood's best couples.
They Established Their Relationship Before Worldwide Stardom
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness first met each other through their craft. They were both acting in Corelli, a 1995 Australian drama series where a young Hugh Jackman played one of his first roles ever, a prison inmate who suffers from brain damage after a traumatic incident. Deborra-Lee Furness played the title character, Louisa Correlli, a prison psychologist who begins to form a correspondence with Jackman's character in the series. And as the actors grew more acquainted, so did their romantic feelings for one another. It did not take a long time before they were intimate.
At the time, Deborra-Lee Furness was the more famous of the two. She was a well-established actress in Australia, and Hugh Jackman was an up-and-coming actor who wouldn't become a renowned superstar until he appeared in 2000's X-Men a few years earlier. There was a 13-year age difference between the two actors, but that wasn't an issue for these lovers. In that time, while Jackman and Furness were still typically in a celebrity relationship, they had a more quaint, intimate, media-free relationship together — which grew a stable and established dynamic between the couple before Hugh Jackman's profile exploded enormously.
It should also be noted that since they got together, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have also shared two children together: Oscar Maximilian Jackman (18) and Ava Eliot Jackman (13). Here's how Hugh Jackman explained the pivotal point in his relationship-turned-marriage:
I really think it helps that we were together before any of that. So we’ve been on this unbelievable journey, places we never thought we’d go to and we’ve done it together.
They Have Complete Honesty
It's the foundation of any long-standing relationship, but one of the keys to Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness' 20-plus year marriage is honesty. That's the reason Hugh Jackman gave to Today (via People) when he was asked what the secret was to his marriage. Especially when you are in a relationship like Jackman and Furness', where you are left away from each other for long periods of time, you need to establish a sense of transparency and honesty.
If you don't have that level of trust, commitment and faithfulness to the core values of your marriage, you don't have the bedrock — the aforementioned foundation — to making it last. Here's how Hugh Jackman explained his marriage when he announced his new fall music tour:
We’re really honest with each other, we talk about everything. Deb had a few rules when we met, ‘cause she’d done a few movies. She said we won’t spend more than two weeks apart. We never go to bed on a cross word. Sometimes it’s 3 o’clock in the morning, but we kind of work it out before we go to sleep. And being honest. I think relationships, you gotta be yourself, even the bits you don’t love, the bits you’re embarrassed about or things you did wrong. If you’re in a situation where you can be yourself and really be honest, that’s a good start.
They Have Sincere Affection (Often Away From The Cameras)
In Hollywood, everything can be made to seem like it's a big show. With celebrity relationships, one has to wonder how much of it is real, and how much of it is simply for the cameras. Robert Pattinson recently discussed in an interview how he feels it's hard to be intimate with someone when you and/or your partner are well-known media types.
Indeed, Hugh Jackman is one of the most famous actors in the world presently, and that means there are often a lot of cameras directed his way. That's why it's so remarkable that the A-list actor keeps such a firm, committed dedication to his partner.
The details about Hugh Jackman's personal life are often that: personal. It is hard to know too much about their relationship because they generally try to keep a lot of details private, avoiding the dreaded distain of the paparazzi revealing too much about their intimate dealings.
While Hugh Jackman and his wife have undoubtedly faced difficulties the way most couples do, they try to keep those details private and close to their relationship. Oftentimes, it is best to keep the public spotlight out of the way. At least, as best as possible. That allows the couple to celebrate their triumphs while keeping any of their difficulties inside their personal lives.
During a recent appearance on the podcast, Aussies in Hollywood, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness provided a rare look into their previously undisclosed difficulties, including a moment when Furness almost left Jackman. While they are a golden couple, no doubt, they were almost separated. Jackman claimed that even in their darkest moments, he still knew his wife was the one. Here's what he said:
I knew very early. I knew before Deb knew, even when she tried to break up with me, I knew. I managed to talk her out of (breaking up with me), thank God. I'm a very indecisive person, Deb really knows this about me. I can count on my hand the amount of times in my life anything has felt that clear to me. I just knew 100 percent ... I even knew when she was trying to work out reasons to break up with me.
There is no secret recipe to a perfect relationship. It takes a lot of hard work, sacrifices and satisfaction in order to make it last. Not everyone is lucky enough to find some like that in their lives. But it sounds like Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have found that fulfillment and lovingness during their time spent together.
And indeed, 20-plus years of marriage in Hollywood is certainly an achievement. Especially when you're as famous and well-known as Hugh Jackman, one dubbed the "Sexiest Man Alive." That's why, for the reasons listed above, Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness are in one of the best marriages in Hollywood.
