Hugh Jackman’s new lover Sutton Foster attempted to befriend his wife in the run up to their shock divorce by going on double dates with the couple.
Deborra-Lee Furness had a feeling Foster was forming an emotional connection with her husband, which left her feeling uneasy due to Foster’s efforts to befriend her, the Daily Mail has uncovered.
But the Australian actress is taking comfort that the pair’s actions, will ‘all come back around to them’, according to an insider.
In September 2023, Furness, 69, and Jackman, 56, released a statement announcing their separation, explaining to fans that as they undergo changes, they’ve decided to part ways to explore personal development individually.
Soon after, gossip emerged about a potential romance between Jackman and Foster. The pair, who co-starred in Music Man, confirmed their relationship in January through what fans believed was a planned photo of them holding hands while leaving a restaurant in Los Angeles.
Furness is said to be livid at Foster for trying to get close to her, and believes she should take accountability for the break down of her marriage to the Wolverine star, with whom she has adopted children Oscar, 25, and daughter Ava, 19.
Deborra-Lee Furness was left ‘disturbed’ by Sutton Foster’s attempts to befriend her in the months leading up to her shock split from Hugh Jackman (pictured together in 2023)
Rumors of a romance between Jackman and his Music Man costar Sutton Foster, 50, followed shortly after their split
Furness is said to be livid at Foster for trying to befriend her and believes she should take accountability for the break down of her marriage to the Wolverine star
‘The fact that Sutton used to go on double dates and tried so hard to befriend Deb is extremely disturbing to her,’ an insider exclusively told the Daily Mail.
‘She will never have anything to do with Sutton.
‘Deb is friends with Sutton’s ex and they both share a deep sense of betrayal.’
Foster was married to screenwriter Ted Griffin from 2014 until 2024. They are parents to adopted daughter Emily, seven.
Furness ‘cannot forgive’ Foster, who starred in Younger and Bunheads, because she feels she ‘played a role in the breakdown of her marriage’ and believes the Broadway star ‘should take accountability for this.’
‘Deb released her statement and is now focusing on moving forward with her life,’ our insider said. ‘She has done the work that she needs to not allow this to hold her back from living or falling in love again. Deb knows that one day this will all come back around to the both of them.’
Furness previously opened up about her feelings of ‘betrayal’ in a blistering statement to Daily Mail, which read: ‘My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal.
‘It’s a profound wound that cuts deep, however I believe in a higher power and that God/the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working FOR us.’
Furness ‘cannot forgive’ Foster because she feels she ‘played a role in the breakdown of her marriage’ and believes the Broadway star ‘should take accountability for this’ . Pictured: Jackman and Foster in New York in May
Furness, 69, and Jackman, 56, announced the end of their 27-year marriage in a shock statement in September 2023, telling fans that they were ‘shifting’
Jackman has yet to release his own statement on the split, but a source previously told Daily Mail he had been left ‘extremely disappointed’ by the her words, as he believed they had an ‘understanding’ they would not publicly trash one another.
Foster has also remained silent, and desperately avoided questions about her love life as she flew solo at the annual Drama Desk Awards in New York on Sunday night.
But that didn’t stop actor Michael Urie, who played Foster’s on-stage lover in Broadway production Once Upon a Mattress, from lifting the lid on the new relationship.
‘I mean, she’s my colleague and my friend, and I love her and I know that she’s a really great person and she surrounds herself with really good people, like, all the time,’ 44-year-old Urie said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
Directly addressing Foster’s romance with Jackman, he added: ‘I believe in her and I believe that she’s happy.’
But their happy union could be tested as rumors abound that Furness is preparing to drop a tell-all book about her relationship with Jackman.
Last week the Daily Mail revealed the actress ‘has been flooded with very tempting book offers’ and offered ‘huge amounts’ to blow the lid off their marriage and spill intimate details about their time together, including weathering persistent rumors about his sexuality.
The Daily Mail has approached Furness, Jackman and Sutton’s representatives for comment.
