Inside Dannii Minogue’s difficult relationship with Julian McMahon’s socialite mother and how she wouldn’t even let her into her home – as she stays silent on ex-husband’s death

Dannii Minogue had a very rocky relationship with her ex-husband Julian McMahon’s mother, Lady Sonia McMahon during their short-lived marriage in the early nineties.

Julian, the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon and Sonia, died last week at age 56 after a private battle with cancer.

His heartbroken wife, Kelly Paniagua, confirmed the devastating news in an emotional statement on July 4.

Years before his relationship with Kelly and his Hollywood breakthrough, Julian was married to his Home and Away co-star and singer Dannii.

The pair, who met on the set of the hit soap in the late ’80s, wed in 1994 during what was dubbed a ‘fairytale’ showbiz wedding.

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Dannii Minogue had a very rocky relationship with her ex-husband Julian McMahon’s mother Lady Sonia McMahon. Pictured Dannii and Julian

Their marriage lasted just 18 months, with Dannii later revealing in an interview that Julian’s mother Sonia (pictured) never approved of their union

But behind the scenes, things were far from picture-perfect.

Their marriage lasted just 18 months, with Dannii later revealing in an interview that Julian’s mother never approved of their union.

‘There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me, I wasn’t allowed to be near her in the house,’ she told No Filter at the time.

‘We just had no idea how to handle it – we were just trying to’.

Dannii said that the romance was complicated by financial issues.

‘She (Julian’s mother) didn’t support her son, I did. I paid for everything and I worked every day to earn that money to pay for everything,’ the actress said.

The singer also claimed the constant travel between the UK and US to keep their relationship alive left her in debt.

‘I not only ran out of money – I was in debt,’ Dannii explained.

‘There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me, I wasn’t allowed to be near her in the house, she said she wasn’t coming to the wedding,’ Dannii previously revealed

Julian, the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon and Sonia, died last week at age 56 after a private battle with cancer

‘It was a huge struggle emotionally, physically, mentally, financially.’

She eventually decided to strip naked for Playboy to pay off her crippling debts and admitted her parents didn’t want her to pose for the magazine.

‘My parents didn’t want me to do it. My dad was saying ”doing this is forever – you can never, ever change it,”‘ she told news.com.au.

‘[Her sister] Kylie knew why I was doing it. I could have asked her for the money, but it wasn’t in my nature.

‘I never wanted to admit the trouble I was in. I should have been looking at my finances.’

Dannii also discussed her difficult relationship with her former mother-in-law in a candid interview on Anh’s Brush with Fame in 2019.

‘She [Sonia] would not let me go to the family house. Sometimes Julian had to go and collect something and I was waiting in the car out the front,’ she said.

‘It was as if I’d done something wrong to the family, but I hadn’t done anything wrong.’

In 1999, Julian tied the knot with American actress Brooke Burns, best known for her role in Baywatch. The couple welcomed daughter Madison the following year, but their marriage collapsed in 2001. Pictured together in 2000

Dannii also revealed how Sonia had initially refused to show up on her wedding day.

‘So she did end up coming and was causing a scene… it wasn’t the greatest… it was hard. I just tried to stay away from it, I just wanted to enjoy the day,’ she said.

After his short-lived marriage to Dannii, Julian tied the knot with American actress Brooke Burns, best known for her role in Baywatch, in 1999.

The couple welcomed daughter Madison, now 25, the following year, but their marriage collapsed in 2001.

Burns, 46, honoured her late ex-husband with a touching Instagram tribute following news of his passing, sharing a sweet photo of Julian with their daughter and writing simply: ‘Rest in peace .’

But their relationship wasn’t without controversy.

During their short-lived union, Julian was rumoured to have had a fling with his Charmed co-star Shannen Doherty.

The timing of the alleged romance reportedly overlapped with the final season of Doherty’s role on the show in 2000-2001.

After two high-profile breakups, McMahon kept his next relationship largely out of the spotlight. He began dating author and model Kelly Paniagua in 2003, and after more than a decade together, the pair married in a quiet ceremony at Lake Tahoe in 2014. Pictured in 2017

Burns reportedly discovered the affair in the tabloids.

‘It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,’ Burns once told Nicki Swift, later admitting, ‘He got carried away by all the Los Angeles hoopla.’

Doherty died after a battle with breast cancer in July 2024 – just a year before Julian.

Julian praised his ex-wife following their split and described their co-parenting of their daughter as relatively harmonious.

‘We just go day by day, basically. Whoever has the most amount of work will not have the child that day or night,’ he told Ocean Drive Magazine in 2003.

‘It basically stems from the fact that we want our daughter to spend as much time with each parent as she can.’

He added: ‘If it comes down to trying to give your child the best life you possibly can, then it kind of comes easy.

‘It’s not about arguing, fighting and trying to manipulate each other anymore.

‘It’s just about trying to make sure that our little girl grows up with everything we can offer her.’

After two high-profile breakups, Julian kept his next relationship largely out of the spotlight.

He began dating author and model Kelly Paniagua in 2003, and after more than a decade together, the pair married in a quiet ceremony at Lake Tahoe in 2014.

According to reports at the time, the actor popped the question during a romantic trip to Melbourne in late 2013.

Unlike his past marriages, Julian and Kelly kept their love life intensely private, rarely appearing together at events or discussing their relationship in interviews.

In her heart-wrenching statement, Kelly described Julian as her ‘beloved husband,’ saying he ‘died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer.’

‘He was truly one of a kind,’ she added.