Natalie Imbruglia reveals Daniel Johns was ‘the love of my life’

Natalie Imbruglia has said ex-husband Daniel Johns was ‘the love of my life’.

The notoriously private Aussie singer, 46, was married to the Silverchair frontman, 42, from 2003 to 2008 and has rarely commented on their split.

But she opened up about their relationship and break-up in a Spotify podcast series about Johns’ troubled life, released this week.

Despite the bitter nature of their divorce, Imbruglia now considers her ill-fated marriage to Johns a gift.

She said on the Who is Daniel Johns? podcast: ‘He was the love of my life and I think in time you realise that’s a really special thing and you look back on it fondly, and it doesn’t come around that often that you can both feel that way about each other…

‘It’s not something that is necessarily repeatable in that way. It’s a beautiful thing.’ 

Imbruglia also told interviewer Kaitlin Sawrey her relationship with Johns was ‘difficult’ and insisted she tried hard to make things work.

Unique: She opened up about their relationship and break-up in a Spotify podcast series about Johns’ troubled life, saying: ‘He was the love of my life and I think in time you realise that’s a really special thing and you look back on it fondly.’ Pictured in London on June 27, 2003

The singer, best known for the 1997 global hit Torn, said: ‘It was really, really hard; it’s a difficult time to talk about and, to be honest, I just remember trying… just trying to get things back on track…

‘And sometimes there isn’t a way through it and that’s where we found ourselves, I’m afraid.’

Johns had positive things to say about his ex-wife, too, and insisted their relationship didn’t work out because they had different goals in life.

He said: ‘She wanted to settle down and have babies and she wanted to do normal stuff and I just wanted to get weirder, so we just kind of disappeared from each other’. 

‘She taught me how to be a man’: Johns also had positive things to say about his ex, insisting their relationship didn’t work out because they had different goals in life. Pictured in 2006

‘She taught me how to be a man, you know? I met her when I was 19, at risk of sounding sentimental.’

Johns recently spoke about his high-profile split with Imbruglia on The Project. 

‘We’re friends now. But to be honest, we didn’t talk for about 10 years,’ he said last month. 

‘We’re friends’: Johns recently spoke about his high-profile split with Imbruglia on The Project. ‘We’re friends now. But to be honest, we didn’t talk for about 10 years,’ he said last month

Signature song: Imbruglia is seen here in the famous music video for her 1997 hit single Torn 

Struggles: Imbruglia wrote her 2005 hit Counting Down the Days about their long-distance relationship, and often spoke of how she missed Johns. Pictured in 2005

‘When we were married, I was in my twenties. I was incapable of learning how to be responsible. I didn’t know how to use a phone. I was touring all the time. 

‘And then, I don’t know, I took it of my own volition and said, “Why are we not talking?” I didn’t really understand and she was like, “I don’t know why we’re not talking either!”‘ 

Imbruglia met the rocker at an awards show in 1999 and they married four years later, on New Year’s Eve, in a beachside ceremony in Queensland.

Moved on: After their split, Natalie was linked to British comedian David Walliams, actor David Schwimmer, One Direction star Harry Styles, and even Prince Harry, among others

As time elapsed, they became the subject of split rumours, partly due to the length of time they spent apart.

Imbruglia wrote her 2005 hit Counting Down the Days about their long-distance relationship, and often spoke of how she missed Johns. 

Break-up speculation grew after Johns neglected to thank his then-wife while collecting Silverchair’s five gongs at the ARIA Awards in October 2007.

Baby love: The star welcomed her first child, son Max, in October 2019, at the age of 44

A joint statement released through their publicists in January 2008 read: ‘While we are very sad that our marriage has ended, we want to make it clear that our parting is amicable and we remain friends.

‘This mutual decision has not been taken lightly or quickly.’

It added: ‘However, our career demands and our lives in different parts of the world have brought us to the point where unfortunately this difficult decision was necessary for both of us.’

 New addition: Max was born via IVF with the help of a sperm donor

After their split, Natalie was linked to British comedian David Walliams, actor David Schwimmer, One Direction star Harry Styles, and even Prince Harry, among others. 

The singer, best known for her 1997 hit Torn, welcomed her first child, son Max, via IVF and a sperm donor in October 2019, at the age of 44. 

Johns, who rarely discusses his love life, was last romantically linked to model Michelle Leslie. They even sparked engagement rumours in 2019 but later split.

Private: Johns, who rarely discusses his love life, was last romantically linked to model Michelle Leslie (left). They even sparked engagement rumours in 2019 but later split