Ahead of their brief return to Neighbours in 2022, Jason Donovan spoke of his love, admiration, and even jealousy of pop megastar Kylie Minogue.
The 55-year-old co-starred with Kylie on the iconic Aussie soap drama Neighbours from 1986 until 1989, the then-teenagers playing fan-favourite characters Scott and Charlene.
WATCH NOW: Kylie Minogue reunites with Jason Donovan to sing Especially For You. Article continues after video.
But it wasn’t just their characters that found love, off-screen Kylie and Jason fell fast and hard for each other, the lovebirds going on to date for five tumultuous years from 1984 until 1989.
RELATED || Kylie Minogue says Neighbours return a “big waste of time”
Ultimately, their romance wasn’t meant to be, Kylie, breaking up with Jason to pursue a relationship with the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.
Reflecting on the breakup some 27 years on, Jason told the Mirror that he struggled for years to accept that his former girlfriend had left him for “the greatest rock god of the period.”
“It was an extremely painful parting of the ways and, without doubt, I took a long time to recover from it.”
“Years, definitely. It was bad enough that she’d run off with anybody, but she happened to run into the arms of the greatest rock god of the period, the very guy who I secretly wanted to be. That was a pretty big punch to take.”
“I’ve since bumped into Kylie quite a few times,” Jason revealed before adding that on those occasions he and Kylie had never discussed their breakup.
“We’re not close enough to get into that.”
Despite this, Jason has continued to speak highly of his ex.
“If she walked into the room now, we’d hug each other. We’re old mates with a lot of shared history,” he told the Daily Mail in a 2008 interview.
Most recently, the Rocky Horror Picture Show actor described the Spinning Around singer as “wonderful” in an interview with British radio host Scott Mills.
“Kylie is incredibly hardworking, she’s a wonderful family person and human being. She has a great sense of humour as well.”
“She just keeps coming back and you know her passion and her love. Even when we’re going back to the early days of Neighbours and the start of her music career, it was just evident to see that she has a gift.”
WATCH NOW: Kylie Minogue shares sweet tribute to Jason Donovan. Article continues after video.
In 2012, Kylie and Jason surprised fans with a duet of their hit 1988 song Especially for You at a London concert celebrating band Stock Aitken Waterman.
Then in 2018, they performed the iconic song once more to a sell-out crowd at London’s Hyde Park.
In 2022, Jason and Kylie returned to their roots, making guest appearances as their beloved characters in the Neighbours faux finale.
Read more about the Neighbours revival here.
