Hugh Jackman and mother Grace McNeil.Photo: Hugh Jackman/Instagram
Hugh Jackmanand his mother Grace McNeil are enjoying some quality time together.
TheLoganstar, 52, posted a photo on Instagram on Monday with his once-estranged mother. Jackman wrapped his arm around McNeil as they gazed into each other’s eyes while smiling.
“Mum,” the actor simply captioned the touching moment.
Jackman hasspoken at lengthsover the years about his relationship with his mother. In a 2011 interview withThe Sun, he shared that he was separated from his mother at 8 years old as she battled with what he later realized was “undiagnosed postnatal depression.” He expressed in the interview that while he was “furious” with his mom at the time, he later “gained an understanding of why Mum did leave… [We] have definitely made our peace, which is important.” Jackson also shared that he and his mother have a “good relationship.”
Hugh Jackman.Getty
In 1967, McNeil and the actor’s father, Chris Jackman, moved from England to Australia with his sisters Zoe and Sonya and brothers, Ian and Ralph. A year later, the Tony Award winner was born. When Jackman was 8 years old, his mother left and moved back to England, later taking his sisters with her.
“As I went off to school, when I came back, there was no one there in the house. The next day there was a telegram from England. Mom was there. And then that was it. I don’t think she thought for a second it would be forever,” he recalled. “I think she thought it was, ‘I just need to get away, and I’ll come back.’ Dad used to pray every night that Mom would come back.”
Jackman echoed similar sentiments in his 2012 cover story withAustralian Women’s Weekly.
“The thing I never felt, and I know this might sound strange, I never felt that my mum didn’t love me,” the actor said, perUs Weekly. “I’ve spoken about it at length with her since and I know she was struggling.”
“She was in hospital after I was born suffering from post-natal depression. There wasn’t a support network for her here,” he added.
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Jackman, who shares son Oscar, 21, and daughter Ava, 16, with wifeDeborra-Lee Furnessalso reflected on the impact of his relationship with his mother when it comes to his own parenting.
“I think having kids of your own just adds another level of empathy and understanding,” he told the Australian outlet at the time, perToday.“And there comes a certain point in life when you have to stop blaming other people for how you feel or the misfortunes in your life.”
source: people.com
