Forced from that the previous wife had been on the stage (7)
I believe the answer is:
exacted
'forced from that' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'the previous wife had been on the stage' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'previous' could be 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime) and 'ex' is found within the answer.
'had' could be 'd' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'd' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ace' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for exacted that I've seen before include "forced out" , "Insisted on and obtained, say payment" , "'Claimed, demanded (7)'" , "Inflicted" , "Insisted on and obtained - in precise way?" .)