In a sea of cagey Hollywood stars with carefully crafted images, Hugh Jackman has always been unflinchingly, refreshingly honest.
Over his impressive three-decade career, the 54-year-old has spoken candidly about everything from his estrangement from his mum, the recent death of his dad and even his battle with skin cancer.
But his latest emotional revelation is sure to strike a chord, especially with his wife of 26 years, Deborra-lee Furness.
They have been together for 26 years.
(Image: Getty)LAID BARE
In a soul-baring interview with UK newspaper The Sun, Hugh revealed he’s going to therapy to be a better dad to their two kids, Oscar, 22, and Ava, 17.
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It’s a move insiders say has done well to heal the proud parents through a somewhat emotional time. But despite Hugh’s efforts, the actor seems hesitant to consider himself a perfect dad.
Hugh confessed that seeing a therapist helped him “understand my past and how it’s informing my thinking unconsciously… Getting to really understand some of the patterns I was unconsciously repeating.”
While Hugh doesn’t elaborate on what patterns he’s worried about repeating, he has been open about his parents’ marriage breakdown when he was eight, resulting in his mum fleeing back to England, leaving Hugh with his dad Christopher in Australia. Hugh reconciled with his mother, who had been suffering postnatal depression, in adulthood.
“The whole thing was emotionally taxing on Hugh.”
(Image: Getty)LIFE’S STRUGGLES
In the past, he’s also spoken out about struggling in his marriage once he and Deb, 67, adopted their children. “You fall in love with someone, and you work out your relationship and it’s great, then… we had kids,” he says.
“The way I was parented and the way she was parented, suddenly… Whoosh! We had really different ideas about becoming a parent. We never really discussed it. We just assumed, ‘We love each other, we don’t argue, it’s going to be fine!'”
While family and friends applaud Hugh for keeping it real, sources say Deb can’t help but be worried as her husband emerges from a traumatic couple of years. His beloved dad died in 2021, while Hugh was filming The Son, in which he plays a father who repeats his own dad’s mistakes as he raises a suicidal teenage boy.
“The whole thing was emotionally taxing on Hugh,” says a source.
“It reawakened a lot of his own stuff and made him laser-focused on what he’s like as a dad at the same time as losing his own. He poured his heart and soul into that movie and Deb’s concerned it was all too much for him.”
Despite the emotional time, Hugh refuses to rest and has begun a gruelling training schedule ahead of reprising his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3.
Hugh has been going to therapy.
(Image: Getty)Sources admit Deb is worried that Hugh’s at an emotional crossroads. “He can’t play a muscle-bound superhero forever, and he’s obviously worried about his parenting even though the kids are flying the nest,” tells the insider.
“Oscar is an artist now and living his own life, and Ava won’t be far behind. They might have had their differences in the past when it comes to parenting, but Deb keeps reminding Hugh they’ve raised amazing kids, and whatever else comes their way they’ll face it together.”
