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News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Why Deborra-Lee Furness' ‘insightful' statement could also be a big mistake
After almost two years of dignified silence, it's been a dramatic 24 hours for celebrity exes Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness. Yesterday morning came a big update in the pair's split, some 20 months after they both announced they were going their separate ways after 27 years of marriage: Furness had officially filed for divorce, the pair having come to an agreement that is reported to include a 'handsome payment'. Hours later, an update nobody saw coming: Furness released an explosive statement about the split to the Daily Mail, calling out an 'traumatic journey of betrayal' that 'cut deep'. She said the 'breakdown' of the couple's marriage had been 'a profound wound', but also suggested she was better off single. All eyes were then on Jackman, who hours later posted an apparently unrelated video of him nailing a complicated jumprope routine during a stage show. The song he was dancing to? N*Sync's break-up anthem Bye Bye Bye. It didn't seem like it would turn out this way when the former couple released their PR-managed joint break-up statement back in September 2023, filled with therapy-speak about 'navigating [the] transition' with 'gratitude, love and kindness'. They signed off that announcement with a promise: 'This is the sole statement either of us will make.' Sydney divorce lawyer and founder of Kalpaxis Legal, Cassandra Kalpaxis, told today that Furness' public statement was a reminder that 'raw emotions' are involved in even the most amicable of divorces. 'Amicable divorces are common, but that doesn't mean the people involved weren't hurt during the relationship or the separation. It simply means they're choosing to prioritise getting through the process quickly and respectfully over trying to emotionally damage one another,' Kalpaxis said. She described Furness' surprise statement as 'insightful'. 'It's a reminder to those of us working in this space that divorce is really an emotional process, not just a legal one. Around 80 per cent of separation is about emotion. You're detaching from another person, and your nervous system needs to reset from that connection, those routines, the familiar voice, and shared behaviours.' Speaking broadly, Ms Kalpaxis did concede that hurting parties can run into trouble when they air their grievances so publicly – particularly in a split as high-profile as this one. 'When I work with high-profile clients, I always advise them not to speak publicly about the split. It's never received the way it's intended, not by the media, friends, or family, because context and tone are everything,' she said. 'Things are easily misinterpreted, and that one comment can get back to the other person, be taken the wrong way, and spark acrimony. That's often how amicable divorces turn acrimonious.' Ms Kalpaxis also said that a number of factors would've been taken into account to calculate the terms of the former couple's divorce settlement – among them, Jackman's earning power as a Hollywood A-lister, and their respective ages (Jackman is 56; Furness 69). 'For someone like Deb, who's a little older than Hugh, we'd expect her age and her future earning capacity to be taken into account. Similarly, his greater capacity to earn moving forward would also be factored into the overall division,' she speculated. And Ms Kalpaxis offered some simple advice for any couple – A-list or otherwise – looking to keep things amicable as they navigated a split. 'One of the key ingredients to an amicable split is acknowledging the hurt that may have been caused, whether or not you agree with the other person's perspective. People have different lived experiences of the same relationship,' she said. If both people can accept that their behaviour wasn't perfect, and let's face it, none of us are perfect all the time, and still commit to getting through the process in a fair and respectful way, then that really lays the groundwork for an amicable separation.'
The National
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Review: Boyz II Men turn back the years in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Nights concert series
Who needs extra production when a group has all the vocal fireworks? The understated stage setup was both appreciated and savoured as US R&B group Boyz II Men made their Abu Dhabi debut on Saturday, performing as part of the Saadiyat Nights series. Backed by a dimly lit four-piece band and unfussy background visuals, the trio's near 90-minute display of vocal dexterity and flawless harmonies felt almost revolutionary in a current music landscape seemingly dominated by electronically processed vocals. It was also a reminder why the Philadelphia group – whose surviving members are Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris (not related) and Shawn Stockman – were one of the biggest vocal groups of their time, with a slew of big-selling hits. I mention 'vocal groups' because, as their episode in Behind the Music revealed, Boyz II Men's remarkable rise was halted by shifting musical trends. The industry pivoted from similar R&B-rooted African American acts to heavily promoting pop boybands such as the Backstreet Boys and Nsync; a shift the group suggested was driven, in part, by systemic racism within the music business. While internal struggles and shifting industry trends left the group in the wilderness for more than a decade starting in the late 1990s, their re-emergence was driven by a renewed desire to celebrate their hard-won legacy. Contemporary pop artists such as Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake, who have drawn vocal inspiration from their era, have also helped shine a light on their enduring influence. As a result, Boyz II Men have found themselves packing concert venues from the US to Australia. Hence, their Abu Dhabi concert was as much a well-earned lap of honour as it was a showcase of a band revitalised. The ethereal Believe Us demonstrated the wondrous power of a perfectly executed three-point harmony. The same can be said for Water Runs Dry, where Nathan's rich baritone was expertly layered with the fluid harmonies of Wanya and Shawn. Such control and precision extend to their more dramatic moments, with modern R&B rarely offering a vocalist as commanding as Wanya, his booming tenor literally brought the crowd to their feet during storming performances of On Bended Knee and I'll Make Love to You. While Shawn's icy falsetto resonated in It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday – an elegiac ode to the departed. Crowd pleasers as ever, they sparked a mass karaoke sing-along in the heart-warming One Sweet Day, complete with lyrics displayed on the screen – mirroring the reaction their collaborator Mariah Carey received only a year earlier when performing the song during her solo concert on the same stage. Finishing their set where it all began, with a heartfelt and suitably poignant rendition of End of the Road alongside their debut single Motownphilly, Boyz II Men left the stage with a lasting reminder of a legacy that may have felt underappreciated at times but remains undeniably timeless. February 1: Omar Khairat The Egyptian singer will perform a collection of his enchanting and original symphonies. Tickets start at Dh250. February 15: Christina Aguilera The American singer is returning to the UAE capital for the first time in 17 years. Tickets are sold out. February 21: Gwen Stefani The American singer will perform solo hits like What You Waiting For and Hollaback Girl, alongside No Doubt classics such as Don't Speak. Tickets start at Dh295.
