As the nation celebrates Deborra-lee Furness on This Is Your life, proud husband Hugh Jackman tells of his love for the woman he fell for at first sight.
A light rain was falling on Hugh Jackman as he hurried through the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, trying desperately to control his nerves. The normally suave star knew everything was riding on the next few precious minutes.
Rounding a corner with his actress girlfriend Deborra-lee Furness, Hugh watched her face as she spotted a lone table covered with a white tablecloth, impeccably set with a breakfast Hugh had prepared for two.
What Deb didn’t know was that the surprise banquet was just the beginning of what Hugh had planned – hidden in his pocket was an engagement ring. And while Hugh had intended to pace himself and propose to Deb midway through the meal, suddenly excitement got the better of him.
“My plan was to propose half way through breakfast and I thought, ‘Forget that! So I have to do it now! I need to do it now!’” the superstar remembers. “It had been raining, and finally the sun came out, and I didn’t have a line! I was thinking, ‘Come on, come on, come on, you’ve got to come up with something, this is a once-in-a-lifetime, you’ve got to come up with a line’. And I said, ‘Baby, look the sun’s come out – it’s almost perfect!’ and she says, ‘What do you mean? It is perfect!’ And I said , ‘Well… it will be if you marry me!’ “And I pulled out the ring.”
These days the couple are more in love than ever, and it’s hard to believe it’s been15 years since that magical moment when Hugh proposed. And that moment set the stage for one of the most star-studded weddings Australia has ever seen. A whirlwind seven months after Hugh’s proposal, Deborra-lee donned a white dress for what she still jokes is “the best wedding I ever went to”.
