Julian McMahon's ex-wife Dannii Minogue spoke about their marriage just a month before his tragic death

Daily Mail​

08-07-2025

Julian McMahon 's first ex-wife Dannii Minogue coincidentally spoke out about their 18-month marriage five weeks before his tragic death, at age 56, following a secret cancer battle.
The Australian 53-year-old originally met the Australian-American hunk in 1990 while co-starring as Emma Jackson and Ben Lucini on the set of Seven Network soap opera, Home and Away.
Three years later, Dannii (born Danielle) enlisted Julian to play her boyfriend in her music videos for This Is It and This Is the Way before art imitated life and they tied the knot.
But Minogue never won over the approval of McMahon's late mother Lady Sonia, who didn't want her entering the political world dominated by his late father Sir Billy, the former Prime Minister of Australia.
'She thought that I was wanting to be part of that world [and] that I was going to take, take, take from them,' the I Kissed a Boy consultant-host recalled on How to Fail podcast on May 27.
'And it was the furthest thing from the truth and not what I wanted at all. So she made it very clear that I was not to be around and she didn't want me a part of anything. Yet Julian wanted me to be his wife.
'I knew that their [mother-son] relationship there was a lot had gone on and he loved and adored her, but they were not close in many ways. So it was a wild time. I mean, it was a lot to take on and that's how swept off my feet I was and thought that it could still work.'
The marriage began falling apart after The Residence actor moved to New York City to star in NBC soap opera Another World while Dannii flew back and forth from London.
'Each time I came back there was just something not right,' Minogue remembered.
'Things I saw in the apartment, there were people around that I didn't know, and he was just very very distant to the point that he called it off. But in the meantime, we'd run through all my money.'
The Thinking 'Bout Us singer said Julian 'was financially on his feet earning all of his money, keeping his money' while she was 'paying for everything.'
'So I was not only personally absolutely brokenhearted but I was broke. I had no money in the bank,' Dannii confessed.
'My family helped me out [with a loan] and then that was my job to heal my heart, to find some confidence in myself not being so stupid at choosing people around me that were not there to support me.'
In 1995 - the same year their divorce was finalized - Minogue needed money so badly she posed nude for the Australian edition of Playboy.
'I should have been at that position where I could pick and choose stuff,' the younger sister of Kylie Minogue explained.
'And now I couldn't with anything. So that was that was difficult.'
Dannii doesn't regret the 'dark and bleak' debacle because it gave her 'a toolbox' so she won't be 'that person' making 'those mistakes' in the future.
'It's nice to be able to look back now,' Minogue - who's been dating Swiss musician Adrian Newman since 2014 - concluded.
'I'm with a gorgeous partner and I absolutely love him.'
The I Kissed a Girl consultant-host welcomed 15-year-old son Ethan Edward Minogue Smith during her four-year relationship with babydaddy Kris Smith, which ended in 2012.
Dannii also previously dated America's Got Talent producer-host Simon Cowell, Greek shipping heir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve, and Bros bassist Craig Logan.
Julian just celebrated his 11th wedding anniversary with third wife Kelly Paniagua on June 30, but they were together as far back 2003.
'With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,' Kelly said in a statement.
'Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.'
McMahon is also survived by his 25-year-old daughter Madison Elizabeth McMahon from his two-year marriage to second ex-wife Brooke Burns, which ended in 2002.
The Surfer star is best remembered for his roles in CBS' FBI franchise, The WB's Charmed, and FX's Nip/Tuck.