Russell Crowe’s ex-wife Danielle Spencer has finally addressed a long-standing rumour surrounding their split.
The Hollywood couple separated in October 2012 after nine years of marriage, but continue co-parenting their sons, Charlie, 21 and Tennyson, 18.
There have long been rumours swirling about the reason behind their split, and Danielle, 56, has now set the record straight.
“There’s been this narrative that Russell’s escalating career and him being away contributed to the break-up of our marriage, but that’s not true for me,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I don’t need to be with my partner 24 hours a day to feel safe or secure.”
An actress herself, Danielle insists she always understood Russell’s absence to be on set, and described his most “admirable trait” as “loyalty”.
“We’d visit Russell, or he’d call me a hundred times a day,” she gushed.
Despite finalising their divorce in 2018 following their 2012 split, Russell and Danielle have worked hard to maintain a close friendship, with the indie singer-songwriter remaining a trusted friend and staunch supporter of the star.
“The marriage ended, but that didn’t mean our friendship ended,” Danielle previously told Stellar magazine.
“We’ve had holidays together in the past and can happily sit down and chat. We have a lot of respect for each other.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Russell, who has since found love again with American actress-turned-real-estate agent Britney Theriot, 33.
He told The Sunday Times in 2015: “I’ve loved Danielle Spencer since 1989 – that’s never going to change.”
“That’s one of those things where I stare at her and go, ‘How did this fail?’ I still can’t work it out, because my feelings for her have never changed.”
They are so close that Danielle even appeared on stage with him at his Indoor Garden Party in December, and Russell has been her number one supporter.
With Danielle having recently relaunched her music career following a 14-year hiatus, nobody is more delighted or indeed encouraging than Russell, who always felt her career never got the recognition it deserved.
During their marriage, Russell proudly spruiked his wife’s albums to the media and was known to personally call editors on her behalf to get press for her releases.
The ‘Regenerate’ songstress has also revealed that her new studio album is due for release later this year.
“Russell is thrilled for her,” a friend tells New Idea.
“He knows Danielle put her own career on hold to keep the family together while he travelled to movie locations all over the world. It’s her time to shine now.”
Russell has since found love again with actress Britney, whom he first met in 2013, though sparks didn’t begin to fly until seven years later. They are reportedly engaged.
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