Jason Donovan says his wife found public fascination with ex Kylie Minogue ‘hard’

Jason Donovan has said that his wife has found the public fascination with his former partner Kylie Minogue “hard”.

Donovan, 57, dated Minogue for three years in the late Eighties while the pair were co-stars on the Aussie soap Neighbours.

The actor and singer, who has been married to Angela Malloch since 2008, reflected on his “profound” romance with Minogue during an appearance on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast.

Asked if he had been “in love” with the “I Should Be So Lucky” hitmaker, Donovan replied: “I think so, yeah. Our connection and what we shared was on another level, mate. On another level.

“With Kylie, she started out as this sort of rough mechanic on Neighbours. A sort of tomboy like character. And just sort of blossomed. It was a phenomenal thing to watch and then came [Minogue’s hit 1987 single] ‘Loco-Motion’. Initially, I think it was probably more her chasing me and then I think it sort of flipped a little bit.”

Donovan and his wife share three children together: Jemma, 24, Zac, 23, and Molly, 13.

On the podcast, he went on to address the continued public interest in his relationship with Minogue, despite having been in a relationship with Malloch for over two decades.

“Imagine all that happens for four years of your life,” he said. “You live art imitating life. Your relationship is owned by the world and then you split up, and you know, that was tough.

“But then for the rest of your life... When you're on Instagram, or, imagine someone like Ange – can you imagine that? All they talk about is the wedding. ‘Hold on a minute: I've spent 25 years with this man’, and that gets pushed in your face all the time. Every time I get into a cab now, it's, ‘How's Kylie?’”

He explained that the public obsession with his and Minogue’s relationship had been challenging for his wife at first.

“I think initially, it was pretty pretty hard,” he said. “I mean, I hope she doesn't mind me saying that. We're 25 years in. That says it all to me.

“And she is my best friend and the love of my life.”