The most telling part of Kylie Minogue's new docuseries isn't what she reveals, but how she delivers it

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the three-part documentary series KYLIE.

REVIEW -- Kylie Minogue's raw, emotional new three-part docuseries titled KYLIE delivered a heartbreaking secret no one could have expected.

The Netflix documentary, which drops today, is made by the same people behind the Beckham docuseries and is of the same ilk – insightful in parts, raw in parts and filled with fresh archival videos.

While not a lot in the series is jaw-droppingly revelatory, there is a mammoth reveal in the final minutes that shows Kylie is still the down to Earth Aussie that stole hearts around the world 40 years ago on Neighbours.

Coming in as a casual "one more thing" almost like a Marvel movie's extra scene, the singer revealed a second battle with an undisclosed cancer in 2021.

Minogue said she had kept the diagnosis to herself at the time because "I don't feel obliged to tell the world" unlike the first time around, which forced her to cancel a world tour.

"I was able to keep that to myself and go through that year and not like the first time… I've been trying to find the right time to say it," she admitted.

"I don't feel obliged to tell the world and actually, I just couldn't at the time cause I was just a shell of a person."

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Like in this particular scene, fans of the Aussie pop princess can uncovered more not from what she says but how emotional she gets saying it.

As an actress who became a household name through her role in Neighbours in the '80s to "the baptism of fire" she faced in the British tabloid press as a solo pop star, Minogue has developed a way of giving just enough without giving away too much across her 40-year career.

When pushed by producers about what she got up to when dating INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and how "wild" their nights out would get, she remained coy and kept aspects of her past to herself when she felt the need to.

And at other times, she teased fans to read between the lines.

"He was this wild guy, but his intention was good, even if we weren't being so good," she said with a cheeky grin.

"Everything was done with a lot of love."

But there were moments while taking a Step Back in Time that Minogue got deeply emotional, with talk of Hutchence being the main one. It's clear to see how deeply she loved – and still loves – him, calling him "my person".

Also giving himself away with his body language was Minogue's former on- and off-screen love interest Jason Donovan, whose whole demeanour visibly shifts from blushing while talking about his most famous ex to her relationship with Hutchence.

Donovan struggles to find his words at first and slowly sips water before discussing his memories of the pair meeting for the first time while he was there at an after-party for an INXS concert the couple attended together.

"I could tell he was focused on her," Donovan recalled, saying he didn't speak with Hutchence that night.

"Absolutely, I could sniff that one a mile off. And she disappeared with him into the bathroom, if I remember correctly... which is fine."

In the same way the Beckham docuseries handled the Rebecca Loos affair allegations – by touching on them without confirming on denying them – Kylie does the same in regards to her romance with Hutchence and any suggestions of an overlap.

Donovan admits, not for the first time, that he saw the couple getting married and having kids before their relationship was ended by Minogue over the phone in 1989. 

"Love hurts mate," Donovan told the producer just before the end of their chat.

"I don't think I can say any more, to be f---ing honest. Shit, I'll be in therapy tomorrow just getting over this," he said stone-faced, before quickly adding, "No, I'm joking".

But just as Minogue's body language gave her away, so did Donovan's, with the star appearing hurt all over again after his trip down memory lane almost four decades on.

Footage from their holidays and home video collection showed the fractures in the Especially For You duo's relationship.

As someone who has been lucky enough to see Minogue and Donovan sing their hit duet together in a special performance at London's Hyde Park in 2018, their bond and history is still unmistakeable – something the pop princess touches on.

But, Minogue admits she was truly "mesmorised" by Hutchence and spent the rest of her life looking for a love like that and hasn't found it.

"He was a first in so many ways, and one of those firsts was heartbreak," Minogue confessed about their split.

"I was devastated."

But the singer's comforted by the fact it wasn't one-sided.

"I know from people in his circle that he talked of me and thought of me," she said.

"We were good together. Shoula, woulda, coulda, whatever. You go on and live your lives but it was definitely an amazing point in time and I've probably been looking for something like that ever since and I haven't got it."

When speaking about his death, Minogue is unable to finish her sentences in the docuseries.

"It might seem disproportionate, the emotion and the memories I have with him and with that time but I just felt protected and nurtured and valued and believed in," she said, getting emotional.

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"I remember being at the church and it was overwhelming, the outpouring of love for him.

"It's going to sound totally crazy but I felt him saying 'It's okay. It will be okay'. I always feel he's with me. It's kind of crazy, but I do.

"You can have relationships with, as I have had, relationships with different people but someone that really just believed [starts crying]... believes in you so much."

"Here's an important point: He really didn't want me to be someone else for him, he was encouraging me to discover me," she added shaking her head crying.

In an interview ahead of the documentary's release, Minogue said Hutchence was quite probably the love of her life so far.

In the series she talks about how she grew from an uncertain 21-year-old to a more confident woman by the end of their relationship.

Her "not romantic" love for fellow Aussie singer Nick Cave also comes up across the docuseries, with Minogue crediting the musician for helping her find her way back to pop after her ill-fated indie music attempt, the Impossible Princess era.

While it might be true both male musicians had a significant impact on Minogue's life and career, it's clear the singer found her inner voice all on her own and was among the trailblazers of the industry.

Whether it was reinventing herself many times over, or filming her studio recording sessions or mirror selfies – all normal pop star behaviour these days, but it was much less prevalent back then.

Minogue has proven the critics early in her career wrong by not only selling 80 million albums worldwide over the last 40 years, but being as relevant now, if not more so, then back at the start of her fame.

And the woman who reclaimed "the singing budgie" sledge over the decades is clearly using this docuseries to let the haters know to Get Outta My Way – there's more yet to come from the 57-year-old.

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