The Real Reason Hugh Jackman's Mother Abandoned His Family

Publish date: 2024-04-16

During a 2020 episode of "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast, Hugh Jackman opened up about his parents' split. He recalled how his father Christopher Jackman (pictured above) became a convert of Billy Graham after attending one of the late evangelist's rallies. Grace McNeil joined her husband at the event, but it didn't have the same impact on her. "My father was not religious at all and became a born-again Christian. My mother did not," Hugh said. "That was one of the things, actually, I think, that brought the end of their marriage."

Christopher and McNeil had immigrated to Australia from England before starting their family, and Grace decided to return to her home in Norwich when they divorced (via Great British Life). Hugh's two sisters joined her, leaving his father to raise him and his two brothers. During a 2004 interview with NBC News, he said that McNeil's decision to go back to England was also spurred by her mother's health problems. "Mum had a pretty tough time. So she went over there because her mum was very ill," he stated.

Jackman told Women's Weekly that he later learned that his mother had struggled with other issues that helped explain her behavior, including a battle with postnatal (commonly known as postpartum) depression after he was born. "And then you add five kids into the mix and the fact she had emigrated from England and there wasn't a support network for her here," he said.

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