TLDR
Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster stepped out in New York looking visibly strained as reports swirl that his ex-wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, wants a face-to-face meeting with the new couple.
The gym run should have been routine. Instead, photographers captured Hugh Jackman talking animatedly while Sutton Foster walked beside him, lips pressed together, in a moment that seemed to mirror the offstage drama now surrounding their relationship.
Daily Mail US reported that the outing came on the heels of claims from Australian outlet New Idea that Furness has asked to meet Foster. Sources quoted by the magazine said Jackman and Foster were left feeling “blindsided” by the request, although they were described as open to the idea in order to clear the air.
Jackman, 57, and Foster, 51, confirmed their romance in January 2025, after starring together in Broadway’s 2021 revival of “The Music Man.” The relationship went public about a year after Jackman announced his separation from Furness, with whom he shares two adult children, Oscar and Ava.
According to New Idea, Furness, 70, initially resisted the idea of being in the same room as Foster, but has shifted her thinking. One insider told the magazine, “This isn’t about Deb being angry or wanting to read Sutton the riot act. It is about closure.”
The same source said Furness now wants to minimize what she sees as ongoing tension. Watching the new couple revisit familiar Manhattan haunts has reportedly cut deep. Another quote attributed to the insider described it as “incredibly painful and humiliating” to see Jackman and Foster socializing with the same crowd and frequenting the same places that once belonged to Jackman and Furness’s shared life.
Public optics are a big part of this triangle. In their later years together, Jackman and Furness turned the Met Gala into something of a shared tradition, walking the red carpet in 2004, returning in 2017 and 2018, then again in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, amid their split, Jackman attended solo but chose the same Tom Ford tuxedo he had worn for their first Met appearance, a gesture widely read as a nod to their history.
By the time the Met Gala rolled around again in 2025, the narrative had flipped. Jackman arrived with Foster, their first turn on fashion’s biggest carpet as a couple. Daily Mail US noted that the appearance drew criticism from some observers who felt it was a harsh visual break from his long marriage, especially given that the divorce had been finalized the previous June.
New Idea has also reported on alleged behind-the-scenes chatter about the seriousness of Jackman and Foster’s future together. The magazine claimed sources expect a small, intimate wedding in New York, followed by a European “honeymoon tour” that would include a visit to Jackman’s mother. Those same reports framed the romance against the backdrop of Jackman’s reported $170 million fortune and Foster’s estimated $4 million net worth, suggesting friends have raised questions about how he will protect his assets.
None of those claimed wedding or financial details have been confirmed by the couple or their representatives. Daily Mail US noted that representatives for Jackman and Foster did not respond to requests for comment.
What is clear is that any eventual meeting between Furness, Jackman, and Foster would do more than settle a private score. It would help define the next chapter of Jackman’s public image, from decades-long husband to co-parent navigating a new love, and could signal whether this modern Hollywood family can turn shared history and fresh hurt into something resembling peace.
Should Hugh, Sutton, and Deborra-Lee sit down together to reset the narrative, or is keeping their distance the healthier choice for everyone involved?
