A new report puts the blame for Hugh Jackman’s divorce from his longtime wife Deborra-lee Furness squarely on his alleged backstage affair with Sutton Foster, his co-star in the hit Broadway revival of “The Music Man.”
“Sutton and Hugh’s relationship is the reason that Hugh and Deb got divorced,” a source close to Foster told Us Weekly for a new cover story out this week.
“A lot of people on Broadway knew, and we kept it quiet because both of them are so nice and great people,” the source continued. “Everyone respected their privacy. But there was an affair and overlap.”
But more than the word of this source, the Us Weekly report also explains how Furness, 68, herself appeared to confirm that her husband’s secret romance with Foster led to their divorce after 27 years of marriage.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 01: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness attend “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala – O at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
News began to break in the tabloids late last month that Jackman, 55, had started a relationship with Foster, 49, during the run of “The Music Man” from late 2021 to early 2023 — while they were both married to other people. The affair reports began as soon as the Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce last month from screenwriter Ted Griffin after 10 years of marriage — “amid buzz” that she was now dating Jackman.
On Oct. 26, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig “spilled some major tea” about Furness being “blindsided” by her husband’s romance with his co-star, Us Weekly said.
Lustig said in an Instagram video: “Do y’all remember when I told you this man was up to no good?” She posed this question along with a photo of Jackman and Foster looking “lovey-dovey” on a red carpet, Us Weekly said.
Lustig went on to say that the “Wolverine” star had “blindsided” Furness, who had given him her “whole life and career,” by “running off with the mistress.” Lustig also said that the Broadway stars were planning to “soft launch” their relationship publicly.
Furness has not publicly commented on Jackman’s alleged affair with Foster. But among the more than 26,000 who viewed and “liked” Lustig’s post was Furness, Us Weekly reported. She “liked” the post from her private account — which is only visible to people she follows on the platform.
Moreover, Furness’ close friend, British media personality Amanda de Cadenet, also commented on Lustig’s claim, Us Weekly reported. “You are on point with this one. My beloved friend Deb is about to have her glow up any moment fyi!”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 12: Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster perform a number from “The Music Man” onstage at the 75th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
For whatever reason, Furness struck a much more conciliatory tone when she and Jackman announced their separation in September 2023. A source told the Daily Mail that Furness, at the time, was determined to to “not speak against Hugh.”
“When they divorced, they agreed to keep everything that happened during their marriage private,” the Daily Mail source also said.
As a consequence, the estranged Australian couple issued a polite and amicable-sounding announcement, saying they had “been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage.”
The couple, who share children, Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19, also spoke about how their “journey” is “shifting” and how they “have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”
Now, it turns out that Jackman’s “journey” included his romance with Foster — a journey that was an apparently an “open secret” in Broadway circles.
The romance developed while Jackman and Foster were working together on the classic musical comedy, which is set in small-town America at the turn of the 20th century. His conman and her librarian fall in love through a series of music and dance numbers.
As Jackman and Foster promoted the show, they didn’t hide their regard for each other. During a 2022 interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan” Foster admitted that she and Jackman developed a very close bond and explained how they started a pre-performance ritual that took place when they were alone in her dressing room.
“We call it carpet chat,” Foster revealed in the interview.
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“We hang out in my dressing room before every show and just catch up,” Foster continued. “Somehow we ended up sitting … maybe because my dressing room’s a mess, we sit on the carpet.”
“It’s such a wonderful thing,” Foster added. “We’ve become really good friends, and we just talk and catch up on our day. That’s been one of the best parts of the whole thing, that I’ve made this wonderful new friend.”
There are conflicting reports about whether Furness was indeed “blindsided” by the affair. The Daily Mail quoted a source last month who said that Furness began to have “suspicions” about Jackman working with Foster.
But in the new Us Weekly report, a source said that Furness suspected “nothing” — even after watching her then-husband and Foster kiss passionately on stage night after night.
“Deborra-lee was blindsided when she found out about the affair through the run of the show,” says an industry source. “It was apparently Broadway’s worst-kept secret, and Deborra-lee was the last to know.”
Us Weekly said it also has learned that Jackman never came clean about the affair. “He didn’t own up to it,” an industry source said.
Furness wanted to save the marriage, but Jackman’s relationship with Foster continued, according to Us Weekly: Jackman and Foster are “100% together” and “in love,” with plans to spend “the rest of their lives together.”