For nearly 30 years, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness were considered one of Hollywood’s most admired couples, with Jackman often publicly praising his wife and describing their marriage as central to his life. That image collapsed in September 2023, when the couple announced their separation after 27 years together, releasing a carefully worded statement about entering a new chapter and pursuing individual growth. Neither partner publicly explained what had gone wrong at the time. Furness largely stayed silent, declining to attack Jackman or reveal private details about their marriage.
But the situation grew more complicated as Jackman’s relationship with Broadway co-star Sutton Foster became increasingly public. Jackman and Foster met while working together on the Broadway production of “The Music Man,” where he played Harold Hill and she played Marian Paroo. The demanding production required months of rehearsals, nightly performances, interviews, and promotional appearances, and the two developed a strong professional bond. Their on-stage chemistry was evident, though there was no public confirmation of a romantic relationship at the time.
After Jackman and Furness separated, reports about his connection to Foster gained far more attention. Foster filed for divorce from her husband, screenwriter Ted Griffin, in October 2024. By early 2025, Jackman and Foster were photographed together publicly, including holding hands, and reports suggested the relationship had become serious. The timeline of events naturally drew scrutiny.
In April 2023, Jackman publicly celebrated his anniversary with Furness. In May, the couple appeared together at the Met Gala. On September 15, 2023, they announced their separation. That timeline attracted attention, although it does not prove that Foster caused the breakup or that anything inappropriate occurred during Jackman’s marriage.
For Furness, the painful part may not simply have been seeing Jackman move on. The deeper issue may have been whether their relationship had changed before the public separation. That question became more significant when Furness eventually described her experience using one powerful word: betrayal. Her choice of wording stood out because the original separation announcement had presented the breakup as a respectful decision to follow separate paths.
Her later comments suggested that, emotionally, the experience had been far more painful. Reports of an alleged affair should be treated carefully — claims have circulated about when Jackman and Foster became romantically involved, but the complete story has never been publicly confirmed by everyone involved. Furness filed for divorce in May 2025, and the divorce was finalized in June. While the legal process was reportedly uncontested, ending a marriage after almost three decades was clearly more complicated emotionally than the paperwork suggested.
During the marriage, Jackman built an enormous career through films, Broadway productions, endorsements, business ventures, and his iconic role as Wolverine. The couple also owned valuable real estate, including their Manhattan penthouse. Reports have placed their combined wealth in the hundreds of millions, although celebrity net worth figures are estimates, and the exact divorce settlement has not been fully disclosed. Before becoming known primarily as Jackman’s wife, Furness had already built a successful acting career.
She trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked in television and film. She was professionally experienced when she met Jackman while working on the Australian series “Corelli. ” They married in 1996, just before his career began its extraordinary rise. As Jackman became an international superstar, his career demanded constant travel, filming, Broadway performances, and public appearances.
Furness continued pursuing her own interests while helping raise their two children. Their journey to parenthood was difficult — after fertility struggles and miscarriages, they chose adoption. Their son Oscar joined the family in 2000, followed by their daughter Ava in 2005. Furness later became a passionate advocate for adoption reform, turning her personal experience into an important part of her public work.
For years, Jackman made the world believe their marriage was incredibly strong. He regularly celebrated Furness, praised her support, and spoke about how deeply the relationship mattered to him. Their 25th wedding anniversary in 2021 was another public reminder of that love, making their eventual separation difficult to reconcile with those earlier declarations. Whether Jackman’s feelings were genuine when he made those statements, whether problems developed later, or whether something had been changing privately for years remains known only to the two of them.
What makes Furness’s silence so notable is that she had many opportunities to tell her side of the story, yet she largely chose not to. When she finally used the word “betrayal,” people naturally wanted to understand what she meant. There have also been reports that she may eventually tell more of her story through a memoir.
If that happens, it could reveal what life inside the marriage was really like, what happened during its final years, and why the ending affected her so deeply.
