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Hugh Jackman's BFF Responds to Deborra-Lee Furness' “Betrayal” Comment
It appears Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster haven’t changed their tune in terms of how they feel about each other.
In fact, The Music Man costars recently took their relationship to Indiana.
“Hugh and I had a great time working with the talented students at Ball State University last week!” Foster—who serves as an instructor of theatre at the Muncie school—wrote on Instagram Oct. 7, “#chirpchirp.”
And while she and Jackman haven’t been blasting their romance like 76 trombones, this isn’t their only sighting over the past few months. The X-Men star and the Younger actress were also photographed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in mid-September and were snapped holding hands in NYC in May.
It was in January when Jackman and Foster first appeared to confirm their relationship by strolling hand in hand through Santa Monica, Calif.—with the outing coming a day after he attended her final L.A. performance in Once Upon a Mattress.
And if there were any doubts about where they stood, the two answered those with a few public displays of affection and Foster's appearance at Jackman's Radio City Music Hall residency later that month.
Still, their time together hasn’t been without drama. Less than three months prior to their hand-holding launch, Foster filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years Ted Griffin, dad to her daughter Emily. The year before, Jackman had announced the end of his 27-year marriage to Deborra Lee-Furness, mom to their kids Oscar, 25, and Ava, 20.
"We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," the Correlli costars said in a September 2023 statement to People. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."
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Jackman and Foster starred alongside each other in the 2022 Broadway production of The Music Man. He played salesman Harold Hill, who works to con the citizens of River City, Iowa, into forming a boys’ marching band so he can make money on the instruments and uniforms but ends up falling in love with her character, librarian Marian Paroo.
And while they were each admittedly intimated to work with each other (considering Foster’s seven Tony nominations and Jackman’s role as Wolverine in the popular X-Men franchise), they quickly formed a friendship.
"I just sort of see this guy," she told Broadway.com in May 2022, noting she’d sometimes forget his level of fame. "I think one of his superpowers is that he’s so disarming. He immediately puts everyone at ease. He doesn’t make anything about him. He’s so incredibly generous to everyone around him. So you’re just like, ‘Oh, OK.' The greatest thing that’s happened out of this whole experience is that I have a new friend who happens to be Hugh Jackman, which is super weird.”
However, the two had actually met decades before working on The Music Man. To mark Jackman’s 57th birthday, we're gifting you a lesson on their history.
Jim Spellman/WireImage, Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic
2002
Two decades before Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster starred alongside each other in The Music Man, he went to see her in Thoroughly Modern Millie—a performance that led to her first Tony Award.
"I have photo evidence," the actress recalled to Broadway.com in May 2022 about her early interaction with the Oscar nominee, who was delivering his own Tony-winning performance in The Boy From Oz at the time, "and we’ve met several times. But we had never really officially worked together."
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
2008
And when Foster played Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical, Jackman came to the show. The two snapped a photo backstage with her costars John Tartaglia and Christopher Sieber.
Heather Wines/CBS via Getty Images
2014
Jackman and Foster waltzed into each other's lives again at the 2014 Tony Awards, where he served as host and danced with the actress and her fellow nominees in the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical category.
Sharing a photo of that moment the day after the ceremony, Foster wrote on Instagram, "This happened."
James Devaney/GC Images
2017
While Foster didn't appear in Jackman's 2017 film The Greatest Showman, she briefly did some work for the movie.
"I did a couple workshops of Greatest Showman with him," the Younger alum noted to Broadway.com. "So I met him then, but only for a couple days here and there."
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
2019
In March 2019, it was announced that Jackman would be taking on the lead role of Harold Hill in The Music Man. Later that month, he revealed that Foster would be joining the cast by sharing a throwback photo of them at the 2014 Tonys and writing on social media, "For our next dance ... Sutton Foster is #Marian."
Instagram / Hugh Jackman
2020
The X-Men star and the Bunheads celeb had their first workshop for The Music Man in March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused Broadway theaters to close their doors and the show's opening was postponed.
Instagram / Sutton Foster
2021
In October 2021, Jackman announced the first day of rehearsals for The Music Man. Foster also posted a video of the costars during week three of getting ready for the show, and Jackman shared a clip of their dance practice that December.
"There are hundreds who’ve made this moment happen," the Australia actor wrote on Instagram at the time. "But there’s one in particular I pay tribute to - @suttonlenore, this show is nothing without you. You’re an exceptional talent and friend. Your joy brings the entire company of @musicmanbway to life. I can’t wait for the world to see you as 'Marian.' They are in for an explosion of awesome."
Noam Galai/WireImage
2022
In February 2022, The Music Man hosted its opening night and Jackman and Foster posed for pictures together on the red carpet.
"This man," she wrote on Instagram the day after the show's official opening. "An honor to be by your side. You. Are. The. BEST."
While Foster and Jackman have admitted they were initially intimidated to work together, they ended up forming a friendship.
"He has an impeccable reputation of being the hardest working man, incredibly kind, and generous—and all of that is true," she told Vogue in June 2022. "He disarms everyone, and he doesn’t make anything about him. And he’s now become one of my best friends, which was a surprise, because you usually go into these things thinking, Well, I hope we get along. But we just spent Memorial Day with our families. It’s really fun to meet new friends after 40."
In fact, Foster said her daughter Emily—whom she adopted in 2017 with now-ex Ted Griffin—even called Jackman "Uncle Hugh."
"She was like, 'Is Uncle Hugh coming?' or whatever," she told Broadway.com in May 2022. "And I’m like, 'Yeah, yeah.' He’s just part of the family."
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
2022
Jackman and Foster continued to celebrate the show's success. In May 2022, they attended the Drama League Awards, where he received the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre honor and she won the Distinguished Performance Award. Jackman even announced her win to the crowd at the end of one of their shows.
"@thehughjackman is a gem," Foster wrote on Instagram in May 2022. "Here he is, stopping the curtain call at @musicmanbway last night to make a special announcement because he had 'something very special' to tell everyone."
The following month, the duo attended the 2022 Tony Awards, where The Music Man received six nominations.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
2023
The Music Man's final curtain call was in January 2023. But it wasn't the only thing to end. Eight months later, Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness announced their 27-year marriage was over.
"We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," the Corelli costars said in a September 2023 statement to People. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."
As parents to son Oscar and daughter Ava, "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority," the former couple continued. "We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness."
And they appeared to remain on good terms, with his rep confirming to Page Six the two celebrated Jackman's 55th birthday at New York's Polo Bar that October and "it was a lovely evening."
Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
2024
In October 2024, Foster filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years.
Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
2025
After sparking dating rumors, Jackman and Foster appeared to confirm their romance by holding hands in Santa Monica, Calif., Jan. 6, 2025—a day after he attended her final show in L.A.'s Once Upon a Mattress.
Later that month, the two were spotted kissing and going on dates. Foster also supported Jackman during his residency at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
In May, Furness filed for divorce from Jackman, their split finalized the next month.
"My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal," she told DailyMail.com. "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."
"This belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage," she contiued. "I have gained much knowledge and wisdom through this experience. Even when we are presented with apparent adversity, it is leading us to our greatest good, our true purpose. It can hurt, but in the long run, returning to yourself and living within your own integrity, values and boundaries is liberation and freedom."
The "one thing" she learned is "none of this is personal," Furness added. "We are all on our individual journeys and I believe that the relationships in our lives are not random. We are drawn to people, we invite them in, in order to learn our lessons and to recognize and heal the broken parts of ourselves."
This article was originally published Jan. 8, 2025 at 8:36 a.m. PST.
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