‘WHY I FORGAVE MY MUM'

It’s been a long road to happiness for Aussie actor Hugh Jackman

- Karleigh Smith, Glen Williams

These days, Hugh Jackman is one contented man. He has a beloved wife in Deborra-lee Furness, and two fantastic children, Oscar and Ava, who’ve grown up being doted on by their grandma, Hugh’s mum Grace McNeil.

But it hasn’t always been that way for the Aussie heartthrob, whose fractured family life when he was a child has been well documented as he rose to the top of the A-list.

Indeed in a newly unearthed interview with Woman’s Day, the candid star confides that his mum leaving his dad and fleeing back to her native England when Hugh was just a child sent him into a “white rage”.

“Even though my mum left me when I was eight, it was when I was 12 or 13 that I was an angry young kid. That was probably the toughest time,” he reveals. “I’d always believed and hoped they’d get back together.

“My mum and dad were going to be reconciled when I was 12 or 13, but that only lasted about a week. So when that didn’t work out, I remember being quite disillusioned. And all this coincided with me going into high school. It was a tough time for me.”