Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster Dating: Nicole Kidman Reportedly Shuns Wolverine Star Over 'Team Deb' Loyalty

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster's first Met Gala appearance as a couple in New York on Monday, 4 May 2026, was reportedly overshadowed behind the scenes by Nicole Kidman, who is said to have deliberately steered clear of the pair out of loyalty to Jackman's ex‑wife, Deborra‑Lee Furness.

Jackman, 57, and Furness, 70, announced their separation in September 2023 after nearly 27 years of marriage, stressing at the time that the split was amicable. In January 2025, the Greatest Showman and Deadpool & Wolverine actor went public with his new relationship with Broadway star Sutton Foster, 51, his co‑lead in the 2022–2023 revival of The Music Man. A few months later, Furness filed for divorce and, in a pointed interview, spoke of the 'traumatic journey of betrayal,' language that has continued to colour perceptions of Jackman's new romance.

Nicole Kidman's Quiet 'Team Deb' Stance At Met Gala

At the 2026 Met Gala, Kidman, 58, attended in a very different capacity from Jackman and Foster. The Babygirl actress served as a co‑chair of the high-profile fashion fundraiser at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accompanied by her 17‑year‑old daughter, Sunday Rose, from her marriage to country singer Keith Urban.

Jackman and Foster walked the same carpet as an official couple for the first time, with photographers capturing them smiling and relaxed. Yet, according to Rob Shuter's 'Naughty But Nice' Substack, published on Thursday, 7 May, Kidman made a point of not mingling with the actor and his girlfriend during the night.

'Nicole is firmly Team Deb,' one unnamed source told the newsletter, framing the Met Gala as less of a glamorous reunion and more of a carefully managed piece of social choreography. The insider claimed Kidman believes Furness 'was deeply hurt by how everything unfolded,' and that the Oscar winner 'isn't interested in pretending otherwise just because Hugh showed up with a new woman on his arm.'

The language is blunt, and there is no independent confirmation of exactly how close Kidman came to crossing paths with the couple in the museum's crowded rooms. Still, the account taps into a wider, very human instinct in Hollywood: when long marriages end and new partners appear quickly, friends often make their allegiances clear, even if only through who they are seen chatting to at the bar.

Shuter's source stressed that Kidman was not openly hostile, describing her instead as keen to avoid any hint of a scene. 'She didn't want drama,' the insider said. 'But she also wasn't going to play happy families for the cameras.'

The Shadow Of 'Betrayal'

Jackman's relationship with Foster was always likely to be scrutinised, given the timing. The pair shared the stage in The Music Man from 2022 to 2023, before Jackman and Furness announced their separation in September 2023. In January 2025, he confirmed Foster as his new partner, turning what had been theatre-world speculation into a red-carpet reality.

The atmosphere around that development hardened in May 2025, when Furness spoke to the Daily Mail in the wake of filing for divorce. 'My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal,' she said, calling it 'a profound wound that cuts deep,' while insisting she still believed the universe was 'always working FOR us.'

She did not name Jackman or Foster in that statement, and there is no public evidence of when his romance with Foster began. Even so, one source quoted by Shuter said the line about betrayal was not forgotten in Hollywood, and suggested that 'a lot of people close to her feel Hugh did her wrong.'

It is in that light that Kidman's reported behaviour at the Met Gala starts to look less like momentary awkwardness and more like a quiet declaration. In an industry where people change partners, agents and projects at dizzying speed, loyalty can be a rare currency. The idea that one of Australia's most famous exports would sidestep a former co‑star to stand by another Australian friend clearly resonates, which is partly why the 'Team Deb' label has stuck so quickly online.

None of this proves who, if anyone, betrayed whom. The precise sequence of events in Jackman's marriage and when his relationship with Foster shifted from professional to personal has not been established publicly. Until those involved choose to share more, the gaps will continue to be filled by sources, whispers and brief, chilly non‑encounters on the most photographed carpet in the world.