Did Hugh Jackman Cheat on Deborra-Lee Furness? Inside the Sutton Foster Affair Claims

Hugh Jackman is said to be preparing to accept 'total responsibility' for the collapse of his marriage to Deborra-Lee Furness in New York ahead of their daughter Ava's 21st birthday this July, as tensions continue over long-running claims he became romantically involved with Broadway co-star Sutton Foster. According to a source told Globe Magazine, the 57-year-old actor now wants to draw a line under the bitter fallout and repair relations with his ex-wife for the sake of their family.

The news came after more than two years of speculation around the end of Jackman and Furness's nearly three-decade marriage. Rumours first gathered pace in 2023, when gossip columns suggested the pair's relationship had fractured after Jackman allegedly grew 'inappropriately close' to Foster, his younger Broadway co-star. The offstage chemistry reportedly spilled into real life, and by early 2025, Jackman and Foster, 51, had taken their relationship public, fuelling the sense that the marriage had not simply drifted apart.

In May 2025, Furness appeared to pointedly acknowledge a betrayal when she filed for divorce at the age of 70 and issued a sharply worded statement to the Daily Mail. 'My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal,' she said at the time. 'It's a profound wound that cuts deep.' She did not name Jackman or Foster directly, but the implication was hard to miss.

The divorce was finalised the following month, in June 2025, formally ending one of Hollywood's longest-running marriages. Officially, the split was described in boilerplate terms. Unofficially, the ill feeling has clearly lingered. The former couple, who would have celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on 11 April this year, have not presented anything resembling a united front since the decree absolute.

Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster And A Marriage In Freefall

For context, Jackman and Furness married in 1996, when she was already a prominent star in Australia and he was still, as one insider rather brutally put it, 'a nobody.' Over time, his career detonated globally, driven by his role as Wolverine and a string of high-profile film and stage projects, while she increasingly stepped back from the spotlight. Friends have long hinted that the shifting power dynamic took its toll, although neither has gone on record to spell it out.

Sutton Foster entered the picture years later through Broadway. The Tony-winning Bunheads and Younger star worked with Jackman on stage, and it is that collaboration that sources now frame as the catalyst for the split. Globe has reported that the couple's 'decades-long union exploded' in 2023 after he became close to Foster. By January 2025, Jackman and Foster were described as being in a 'forbidden offstage romance,' appearing together publicly as a couple four months before Furness filed for divorce.

It is worth stressing that none of the parties has openly confirmed the timeline or the nature of Jackman's relationship with Foster before the marriage ended. The alleged affair remains just that, alleged, and should be taken with a grain of salt until those involved choose to speak plainly. Foster has not commented publicly on the accusations, and Jackman's team has so far declined to offer a detailed narrative, beyond standard references to 'private family matters.'

According to Globe, she has been quietly shopping a revenge memoir, with the clear implication that she is prepared to put her version of events on the record. The same report claims she has also considered moving professionally into Jackman and Foster's Broadway orbit, exploring options to produce and direct a show on the Great White Way, something sources characterise bluntly as 'spite.'

Hugh Jackman Seeks Truce Before Daughter's 21st

Against that backdrop, Jackman appears to be edging towards something that looks like contrition. 'He's ready to take total responsibility for his part in the breakdown of their marriage,' one insider told Globe. 'Hugh never intended to hurt Deb.' The same source says the actor now feels 'terrible that things have gotten so ugly' and wants to salvage what he can from 'decades of history together.'

The immediate trigger, it seems, is not professional reputation but a family date circled in red. The pair's adopted daughter, Ava, turns 21 in July, while their son, Oscar, is now 25. Jackman is said to be 'pushing' for a meeting with Furness in advance of the birthday, in the hope they can agree a ceasefire and mark the milestone as a family, rather than as warring factions.

'Ava turns 21 in July and Hugh would like for them to all celebrate the moment together,' the insider said. 'That's why he's really pushing to get together with Deb and hash things out.' The same source suggests Jackman is prepared to shoulder much of the blame publicly if that is what it takes to cool the temperature. 'He wants her to feel heard, and his hope is that she'll be able to own her part in things too. But if Deb still isn't there yet, Hugh says he's fine continuing to take the brunt of the blame if it means they can have some peace.'

None of this has been confirmed on the record by Jackman or Furness, and representatives for the former couple have not issued fresh statements on their private talks. As ever with celebrity fallouts, the loudest details are coming from unnamed 'insiders' rather than the personalities involved.