Dannii Minogue is privately mourning the loss of her ex-husband, Julian McMahon. He passed away peacefully” on July 2 aged 56. His current wife, Kelly Paniagua, confirmed Julian had put up a “valiant effort” to overcome the cancer he eventually succumbed to.
Julian was Dannii’s “first love and her biggest heartbreak”, shares a source.
The pair had met on the set of Home and Away in the late 1980s, where Julian played Ben Lucini opposite Dannii’s bad girl Emma Jackson. Their undeniable chemistry sparked a whirlwind romance, culminating in a 1994 showbiz wedding of the year. Dannii’s older sister, Kylie, served as bridesmaid.
Sadly, the fairytale marriage would only last 18 months. Dannii later admitted their union collapsed due to various pressures and tensions with Julian’s mother, Sonia McMahon, who disapproved of Dannii.
“There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me,” Dannii, 53, said in 2019.
Our insider says: “Neither of them were the same after that divorce but they’ve never had a bad word to say about each other.
“Julian’s death will be a profoundly personal loss for Dannii. He will always be her first true love and someone who played a huge role in her early years. The whole Minogue family will be distraught by this loss.”
Julian was born into a life in front of the cameras, as the son of Australian Prime Minister William McMahon and his glamorous wife, Sonia. Passing away in Clearwater, Florida, he is survived by his 25-year-old yoga instructor daughter, Madison (from his second marriage to Baywatch actress Brooke Burns) and his heartbroken sisters, Melinda and Debbie.
“Julian was a hero to all of them,” says the long-time pal. “There’s not a person who had a bad thing to say about him.”
