He and Deborra-Lee Furness have been married for 20 years

Jul 7, 2015 10:55 GMT  ·  By
Deborra-Lee Furness and husband Hugh Jackman talk about married life, love and family
   Deborra-Lee Furness and husband Hugh Jackman talk about married life, love and family

The rate of divorce these days is high enough to make even us regular folks wonder if there is such a thing as a happily ever after, but actors Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness seem to have found the secret of a long-lasting marriage.

They have been married for almost 20 years, which is Hollywood is the closest thing to an “eternity.” Their secret, they say in a new interview with Australia’s Today show, is never spending too much time apart.

That, and not allowing Hugh to star in a movie with Angelina Jolie.

Love, family life and laughter

These are the 3 most important things in Hugh and Deborra’s life, they say in the interview, which is available in full at the link above.

There is a lot of pressure in the industry that could wreck a marriage, but they found their own way of dealing with it: they agreed to never spend more than 2 weeks apart, regardless of which one of them is working at the time.

As for the other, often-mentioned aspect of being in a relationship with an actor (i.e. seeing him or her kiss or get intimate with someone else in front of the camera), Deborra found a solution for that problem as well.

“I’ve told his agent he’s not allowed to work with Angelina,” she says, before adding with a smile, “I’m sure she’s lovely.”

On a more serious note, she believes that, “That’s the deal with this business. If you get it right, if you pick the right partner, then, you traverse all those travails and challenges.” She, for one, got the right partner in Hugh, which is why they’ve managed to make it work this far.

Those gay rumors won’t go away

While it’s clear from the video that Deborra is joking about not allowing Hugh to work with Angelina (aka the “homewrecker” who “stole” Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston), the interview is getting a very unexpected kind of reaction online, from celebrity bloggers and commenters.

For years, rumors claimed that Jackman was secretly gay and that his marriage to Deborra was just a “beard.” It is a known fact that the industry isn’t exactly welcoming to openly gay actors and actresses, which is why many use these “beards” to continue having box office success.

A large chunk of the Internet is convinced that this is the case with Jackman, too. Since so many people are convinced of it, they will see in everything a piece of evidence to back up their theory - just like is the case with this new interview.

So if you happen to be browsing celebrity blogs today, don’t be surprised when you see pundits joke about how Deborra is throwing Jolie’s name around to make it sound as if Jackman would ever be tempted by a female co-star. Her playing this up is “proof” that he’s gay, apparently.

If anything, this is proof that in showbiz, you’re damned whatever you say or do.