Last week, the news broke that Broadway actress Sutton Foster had filed for divorce from her husband, screenwriter Ted Griffin. For the past year, there have been rumors that Sutton was a factor in Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness getting divorced after 27 years of marriage. Sutton and Hugh co-starred in the revival of The Music Man in 2022. So far, both Hugh and Sutton have remained mum, not giving any official confirmation or rollout as a couple. However, according to a source, Debora-Lee had “suspicions” about the two from the very beginning of the MM production and was not surprised at all when they started dating.
Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness had ‘suspicions’ about the actor working with Broadway star Sutton Foster in The Music Man. It comes amid renewed rumors of a romance between the Wolverine actor, 56, and Foster, 49, following her split from her husband Ted Griffin, 53. The Tony-winning Broadway star filed for uncontested divorce from the screenwriter, in New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday, Page Six reported.
Furness, 68, reportedly had concerns about the pair teaming up for the Broadway production in 2022 – a year before Jackman announced the end of their 27-year marriage.
‘Deborra-Lee had her suspicions when Hugh started working with Sutton,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘Their relationship is not a secret to her.’
Furness, who shares adopted children Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19, with Jackman will not address the recent speculation as she refuses to speak publicly about her ex.
‘Deborra-Lee wants to be left out of this narrative,’ the source explained. ‘She is not going to address this or speak against Hugh. When they divorced, they agreed to keep everything that happened during their marriage private.’
A second insider added: ‘Time has passed for Hugh to mourn his divorce and now Sutton is over her relationship, they are getting closer to making it official. They aren’t going to shove it down everyone’s throat. They became close friends while working together and got to confide in each other over their individual troubles.’
They continued: ‘Hugh still has tremendous respect for Deborra-Lee. They have kids and that is what is important to them both. The are repairing what they can, and will never talk ill about each other.’
Jackman shocked fans when he filed for divorce from Furness last September. Months later rumors began to swirl that Foster and Jackman had grown close, with insiders this week telling PageSix that they are now ‘in love.’
‘They are 100 percent together and are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together,’ an insider told the publication. ‘They are still together. They go out of their way to hide it, but it’s common knowledge.
I don’t know if Sutton and Hugh hooked up before their marriages officially ended or not, but I do totally believe that there was absolutely something emotionally going on between the two of them during their time in the production together. Affairs – emotional or physical – are always messy. I’m not surprised that Deborra-Lee had “suspicions” or “concerns.” They’d been together for over 27 years, of course she could read her husband. It does sound like all parties involved are trying to keep things private and amicable. There are three children involved here, so for all of their sake, I hope things don’t blow up publicly.
I also love that whoever this source was did their own little “I’d very much like to be excluded from this narrative” on Deborra-Lee’s behalf. She said in an interview earlier this year that she feels “strong and resilient,” and I wish nothing but the best for her. I hope that if this source did come from her camp, that it’s her way of telling people, “No seriously, leave me the f-ck alone, I have nothing further to say.” She’s not responsible for her ex-husband’s actions, so she should be left out of whatever comes next. Hopefully, she’s spent this last year healing and kicking ass.
photos credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon, Jonathan Rebboah/Panoramic/Avalon and Getty
Can’t help it. Lost some respect for Hugh on this one. At least she’s age appropriate, I guess.
Why would you lose respect for Hugh? You don’t know what was going on in his marriage.
They’re both attractive people who were thrown together daily. Body language expert: He adores Sutton. And if it’s clear to strangers of course his wife knew. Why would you lose respect over basic chemistry?
Married 27 years, raised two children with him, Deb has spent years hearing people claim her husband must be gay because he married her (older and seen as not hot enough for Wolverine, she was compared to Elton John looks wise by TMZ, FFS) and in the end he does the most cliche thing ever, cheats with a younger co-star. So yeah, I get the losing respect here.
@Agnes, “basic chemistry”?? 🙄
Is it just me, or do they look eerily alike? I think maybe he fell in love with himself!
All I can see is that she had a face lift.
It they ARE together; it seems as though none of this was rushed by Hugh or Sutton. I’m not married and never have been, but I suppose when a relationship is over it’s best to let go and move on. Hugh seemed to really be in love with Deborra, and he has had many opportunities to stray with other beautiful, brilliant leading ladies. I’m not giving him a cookie for not getting with another woman soon, I’m just saying that IF this is real, he must really love Sutton and vice versa.
Jackman and Foster look very cozy in these photos.
Yeah, that first pic of Sutton and Hugh… her whole chest is pressed up against his body and he’s holding her there… Hopefully that’s a recent pic (i.e., after his divorce) and not from during their time in Music Man together, because he would’ve been married then.
That photo is from May 2022 at the Drama League awards.
That’s what I was going to say, he looks more intimate with Foster than in the picture with his wife 😎
I was surprised when I learned when Hugh and Deborra-Lee were together that she was older than him by more than a decade. I don’t usually have much hope for couples with a significant age gap (this goes for older women and younger men and older men and younger women). So when they almost inevitably divorce, I’m never surprised. But they had been together so long, I thought they might be able to stick together and never thought about them. It’s got to sting that he went for someone much younger than her (though age appropriate for him). If they are together, at least Sutton and Hugh have had the decency to not flaunt their relationship so soon and are waiting for their respective divorces to go through. I don’t doubt there was an emotional affair on set of The Music Man if not physical. Not a good look on either part but it does seem like everyone is trying to resolve this amicably.
When I think of big age gaps between an older woman and a younger man, I think Maxwell Caulfield and Juliet Mills. He’s 64 and she’s 83, and they got married in 1980, so they’ve been married over 40 years. He adopted her children from her previous marriages, and there’s never been even a whiff of scandal about them. #relationshipgoals
BTW, if you’ve ever seen a movie called “Empire Records,” Caulfield stars as a semi-washed up pop star who sings, “Say No More, Mon Amour.” He’s a pretty good singer.
I came to know Caulfield from Grease 2 . His love interest was a little known actress Michelle Pfiffer.
Rex Manning Day!
Also: who’s that guy on that motorcycle? What would they say if they knew it was Michael?
Two iconic characters played by one excellent actor!
None of this is even close to the truth. Lol.
@Ashley would you care to elaborate please
I see you have a close relationship with them. LOL.
He was 27 when they married and she was 40 years old. They were in different stages of life, and it would become more glaring as they aged. They both seem like great people, and what they do in their private lives is their business. Yes, it makes good gossip, but, in the end, they are human with flaws. I wish them both happiness.
I also find it disrespectful for someone to be speaking about the situation when they know she wants to be left out of the narrative.
“I also find it disrespectful for someone to be speaking about the situation when they know she wants to be left out of the narrative.”
I thought the same, but I suppose one “leave me out of this” story might unfortunately be necessary.
Divorces in NY can be kept pretty private, but my assumption is she was very well looked after financially based on the length of the marriage and his level of wealth (as she should be!). And that would likely include an NDA on both sides. If they are both moving on, let them move on. And leave her out of it!
I think it came out last year she wasn’t even talking to him anymore. They had a dinner where he came and she froze him out. So yeah, emotional affair or something. And as someone said, he got with someone younger, how very Ewan McGregor of him.
I absolutely hate this!
Ugh, close to 30 years together.
And Hugh has turned into a mid life cliche.
So predictable, so disappointing.
See if she sticks around 10 years, when Hugh will be 65, no Wolverine $ and he’ll loose his looks too.
This reads to me as coming directly from Hugh’s PR team, with the respectful (I guess) commentary on Deborah and the rest about how they’re so in love. I bet Hugh and Sutton are going to come out publicly as a couple very soon.
Am I the only one who thinks they look related?