To describe John Wood’s relationship status as ‘complicated’ could be seen as something of an understatement.
Even the Blue Heelers veteran concedes it’s tough to get your head around, saying: “I’m married … but single!”
Indeed, John and his childhood sweetheart, Leslie, are cohabitating in their home like flatmates, after calling time on their 35-year marriage.
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“We are going through a separation of sorts, which we’ve been going through for years,” John previously admitted to New Idea.
“For all intents and purposes I am single. “It’s not my preferred option. I’d prefer that things were still great, but they’re not, and they won’t be again, I don’t think. It’s a funny life.”
John, 76, cannot imagine his life without Leslie in it. He still loves the woman he met when he was just 16 – despite the fact she now resides at one end of their house in Victoria’s Yarra Valley and he the other.
When the couple separated seven years ago, Leslie asked John to move out, which he did. In fact, the actor has done so several times, but he always returns to the family nest as he hates living alone and misses his adored Leslie.
John largely blames the demands of his acting career for his marriage breakdown. He and Leslie endured a five-year long-distance relationship when John relocated from Victoria to Sydney in 1986 to star in TV legal series, Rafferty’s Blues. Eventually, getting cast as Blue Heeler’s Sergeant Tom Croydon took him back to Melbourne, and his family.
Even though the romantic aspect of their relationship has ended, John and Leslie still spend time together, talking amicably and cooking up a storm. They also revel in spending time with their two daughters and three grandchildren.
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John and Leslie’s eldest daughter Meg is mum to 13-year-old Thomas and 11-year-old Alice, who is a budding actor. Youngest daughter Lexie, a theatre and stage manager, has a son called Obie. The 9-year-old is a “mad keen cricketer” – a passion proud John shares.
“I absolutely love it,” beams John, who stayed connected to his grandkids during Victoria’s lockdowns by reading The Hobbit to them daily over Zoom.
“The best thing about getting old is being a grandparent,” he says. “They give life a whole new dimension which was totally unexpected. I had no expectation of grandparenting,and I love being a granddad.”
Lisa’s been there for John through the good and bad times.
John says he’d be lost without Leslie – even if they aren’t technically husband and wife any more.
The Blue Heelers star believes his demanding career put some strain on his marriage.
As he comes to terms with his new normal, John has been supported by his Blue Heelers family, especially Lisa McCune.
The pair have stayed dear friends since the series ended in 2006, and last year it was revealed that they are hoping to reunite on the small screen in a project John’s been developing about a group of ageing actors in a retirement village.
“John is almost like my second dad,” Lisa has previously said. “He’s awesome!”
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