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Before announcing their divorce, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness had a 'marriage pact'.

This weekend, Hugh Jackman made a joint announcement with Deborra-lee Furness, announcing their divorce after 27 years of marriage.

Dubbed one of Hollywood's golden couples, the pair confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that they were "moving forward" and separating. 

"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," part of the statement read. 

Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman. Image: Instagram @thehughjackman.

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Following the announcement, an excerpt from Jackman has resurfaced. In The Father Hood: Inspirations For The New Generation, the Wolverine actor shared the pact he made with Furness to keep their marriage strong. 

The excerpt, which was partially published by WHO Magazine, also shared a deeper perspective into how they kept their relationship going for almost three decades. 

"Before we had kids, Deb and I made a pretty simple but powerful choice to look each other in the eye at every crossroads in life. Those crossroads are sometimes big, sometimes they're small, sometimes you don't even realise they're crossroads until you look back," Jackman said 

"But at those moments, we said we'd ask each other, 'Is this good or bad for our marriage?' Or, now that we've got kids, 'Is this good or bad for our family?' And as often as possible, we do the thing that is good for our family."

Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman on TV Show Correlli. Image: ABC TV 

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What later followed was Jackman sharing his thoughts on having selfish moments in marriage and fatherhood. 

"...Sometimes that can mean doing something for yourself. I don’t think it benefits anyone if you’re consistently denying yourself something that you love for the sake of the family," he said. "No one wants a father or a husband who’s miserable."

He later told PEOPLE he believed "intimacy" was the key to a long-lasting marriage.

"Without a doubt, it is the most important thing," he explained. 

"People talk about intimacy and assume that means in the bedroom. Of course, it is that, but really, intimacy is being able to share everything together — good, bad, fears, successes. Deb and I had that from the beginning. We’ve always been completely ourselves with each other."

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness with their children Ava and Oscar. Image: Instagram @hughjackmanofficial.

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In 2017, the actor also touched on how it didn't matter that he only found global success a little bit later in life — because he had his wife. 

"One of the great pieces of fortune in my career, it started late, but that Deb and I were already set together, a team, madly in love, like literally before it all happened," he told PEOPLE"We can kind of see all the ups and downs for what they are. Our priority is our family, and we’re there for each other no matter what."

Furness and Jackman met in 1995 on the set of the Aussie TV drama Corelli. 

They married a year later and have adopted two children together; Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18.

Feature Image: Getty/Instagram @hughjackmanofficial.

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