Hugh Jackman Does Not Think of His Kids as Adopted after His Harrowing Journey to Fatherhood

Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness got married a few months after they met as they admitted to their crush for each other. The proud parents of two decided to start their family, but things didn't go as planned.

The couple wanted to have a few kids before adoption, but after a few miscarriages, they decided to adopt, and within five years, they had adopted two children.

The journey to parenthood was a long one, and even though they went through the adoption route, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness never thought of their kids as being adopted.

HOW HUGH JACKMAN MET HIS WIFE

The Greatest Showman star, Hugh Jackman, met his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, in his early 20s. Jackman had just booked his first acting gig, a massive break, on the Australian TV series "Correlli" right after drama school.

Furness was 13 years his senior and a big star, was also starring in the series. When Jackman got picked up to travel to the show, Furness was already in the car's front seat.

He recalled that she took off her seatbelt, turned around, took off her sunglasses, and put out her hand to shake him while introducing herself.

At that moment, he knew he liked her because she didn't have any airs attributed to stars. She was beautiful, and he loved how she broke down any barriers.

He went to tell everyone how she didn't behave like other stars. He looked forward to seeing her by the second day, but Furness had asked that they pick her up last.

Six weeks into the shoot, Jackman realized he had a crush on Furness when he saw another actor who had a crush on Furness try to get her attention.

Jackman knew it was wrong to have a crush on his leading lady because it was unprofessional and embarrassing, and he and Furness were already best friends.

He tried to ignore his feelings and didn't talk to Furness for a week, and five days later, he realized that wasn't a good plan. Eventually, he invited her and some friends over for dinner.

When she came over, he asked her to give him a hand with the dessert his dad had taught him to make. However, he didn't know it would take him an hour to make the crêpes Suzette.

While in the kitchen, she confronted him about his behavior as she had noticed he didn't talk to her in like a week. Furness demanded to know what was going on, and he revealed that he had a crush on her.

He apologized for his feelings and assured her he would get over it. Fortunately, she also confessed that she had a crush on him. He never thought she would have reciprocated his feelings.

Two weeks into meeting her, he knew they would be together for the rest of their lives. He proposed four months later, and they married on April 11, 1996.

JACKMAN'S HEARTACHES ON THE ROAD TO PARENTHOOD

Though the couple was happily married and started planning to have kids, they were met with a bumpy ride to parenthood when they discovered they wouldn't conceive a biological child.

They were planning to have one or two children of their own and then adopt. After multiple IVF treatments, they finally accepted their reality and decided to move forward with their adoption plans.

Jackman revealed they were anxious, knowing they would not have children of their own. He said,

"It was painful. It's not easy. You put a lot of time and effort into it, so it's emotional."

Furness said it was not a happy thing. After multiple miscarriages, they decided to change their plans even though they were upset when they didn't get pregnant.

THE JOURNEY TO PARENTHOOD BY ADOPTION

The initial anxiety the couple had disappeared when they started the adoption process. In 2000, the Furness and Jackman adopted their first son, Oscar, born May 15, 2000.

After the adoption, they had reportedly promised to keep his birth mother up-to-date with her boy's life. Years later, she claimed that the couple had failed on their promise as they didn't update her with her son's progress.

His birth mother, Amber Sanders, further claimed that she could not contact Jackman and would only see her son when photographed in magazines. She said she was disappointed because they only sent beautiful photos when he was one.

In 2005, the couple expanded their family when they brought home Ava Eliot, born July 10, 2005. They were thrilled to have a family of four.

JACKMAN'S PARENTING STYLE

Jackman revealed that he never thinks of their children as adopted and treats them the same way parents treat their biological children. He said,

"Deb and I are believers in … I suppose you could call it destiny. We feel things happened the way they are meant to."

They love that their home is a multicultural pool as their children have separate lineages. Furness revealed that they had embraced their children's cultural heritage and her family honored their different backgrounds.

The couple has completely embraced the ancestors and the extended family. While their son is part Bosnian, their daughter has a Mexican lineage.

As their children became teenagers, Jackman revealed that he had to adjust his relationship with them. Rather than give them rules to follow, he started giving them reasons why they were given rules.

MEET JACKMAN'S KIDS

Jackman and his son, who left high school in the late 2010s, share a relationship that has grown stronger over the years. Jackman also revealed that he's not afraid to be his son's wingman.

His daughter is a ballet dancer who banned her father from attending all her classes after playing P.T. Barnum in "The Greatest Showman" because he attracted too much attention.

For Jackman, one of the perks of having older kids is that he can watch better movies and not be stuck on watching "Shrek" over 120 times even though he loves the movie.