Hugh Jackman’s sexuality has been questioned throughout his career, but he and his now-ex-wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, were always ready to shut those rumors down.
In 2013, the “X-Men” star, 54, told Australia’s “60 Minutes” that he felt frustrated over the constant speculation, according to the Huffington Post.
“It’s, to me, not the most interesting thing about a person, anyway,” he said.
“I do get frustrated for Deb, cause I see Deb go, ‘Ah, this is just crazy!'”
Furness, 67, who was also present for the interview at the time, reportedly chimed in, “If he was gay, fine, he would say he’s gay. It’s annoying because it’s not true.”
In a separate interview with the Hollywood Reporter that same year, Jackman shared that the rumors about him being gay had started to take a toll on his then-wife.
“Just recently, it bugs her,” the “Greatest Showman” star told the outlet at the time.
“She goes: ‘It’s big. It’s everywhere!,'” he added, nothing that the Australian actress would peruse the internet often and spiral afterwards.
However, Furness later on appeared to have a better sense of humor about the chatter surrounding Jackman’s sexuality.
During a Q&A on Anh’s Brush With Fame in 2020, the mother of two reportedly quipped of her then-husband, “He’s been gay so many years. I was gay, too. You know when I did ‘Shame’? I was gay. They were shocked when I got married.”
However, Furness then put the jokes aside to reiterate that the persistent badgering was “just wrong.”
“It’s like someone saying to Elton John, ‘He’s straight.’ I’m sure he’d be pissed,” she said at the time.
Jackman and Furness met in 1995 on the set of the Australian TV series “Correlli” and appeared to have a happy marriage for nearly three decades.
Their 13-year age gap was always a topic of discussion amongst the peanut gallery, but “Wolverine” star maintained that he was the more mature one in the relationship.
“She’s just like a little kid,” he told People in 2017. I’m the [one saying], ‘Babe, this is not a legal parking spot,'” to which his then-wife would reportedly respond, “‘Oh, come on, Mr. Goody- Goody.’”
Jackman and Furness decided to part ways, however, on Friday after 27 years of marriage.
They told People in a joint statement, “We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage.
“Our journey now is shifting, and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth. Our family has been and always will be our highest priority.”
The former couple then noted that they look forward to their next chapter with “gratitude, love and kindness” and asked for “privacy” as they transition into this next phase.
The pair then concluded, “This is the sole statement either of us will make,” signing off, “Deb and Hugh Jackman.”
Jackman and Furness tied the knot in 1996 and share two kids, Oscar Maximilian Jackman, 23, and Ava Eliot Jackman, 18, whom are both adopted.
