It wasn’t sadness, but relief that Deborra-Lee Furness felt when she saw pictures of her ex Hugh Jackman going public with his former co-star Sutton Foster.
The Australian actress, 68, was married to the Hollywood star for 27 years before they announced their shock split in September 2023.
Soon followed rumors that Jackman, 56, had embarked on a relationship with his The Music Man co-star, 49, who was married to her ex-husband Ted Griffin when the pair first started workshopping the Broadway production back in 2020.
They confirmed they are now an item on Monday night after being snapped hand-in-hand on a dinner date in Santa Monica, California.
After months of being ‘plagued with suspicions,’ Furness can now move on, according to insiders, who claim the images confirmed that her fears were warranted.
‘Deborra-Lee feels a sense of relief to be honest with you,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
Hugh Jackman’s ex Deborra-Lee Furness felt relief when she saw pictures of the actor going public with his former co-star Sutton Foster on Monday night (pictured in La)
Australian actress Furness, 68, was married to Jackman, 56, for 27 years before they announced their shock split in September 2023 (pictured in May 2024)
‘She has been plagued with suspicions. She was told it wasn’t true, and that they were nothing more than close friends who worked together.
‘But something in her heart told her that this was not true.
‘She trusted her intuition and her intuition was right. She finally feels at ease after getting confirmation that her fears and suspicions were warranted.
‘She can now fully close this chapter and move on.’
The insider added: ‘She has nothing more to say about her ex-husband and his close friend Sutton.’
Furness and Jackman announced the end of their marriage in a shock statement in September 2023, telling fans that they were ‘shifting’ and as a result had decided to ‘separate to pursue our individual growth’.
Foster filed for divorce from her estranged husband in October after 10 years of marriage. They share daughter Emily, seven.
One month later Furness raised eyebrows when her private Instagram account ‘liked’ a video from gossip blogger Tasha Lustig which claimed Jackman was ‘running off with the mistress’ and planning a ‘soft launch’ of his new relationship to test reaction.
Following months of being ‘plagued with suspicions,’ Furness can now move on after images of Jackman and Foster, 49, served to confirm that her fears were warranted
Adding credence to the claim was Furness’s friend Amanda de Cadenet, who commented on the same post: ‘You are on point with this one. My beloved friend Deb is about to have her glow up any moment fyi!’
The Wolverine star, who played Harold Hill alongside Foster as Marian Paroo in The Music Man, decided to go public with their romance this week as they are no longer ‘interested in hiding their love.’
‘Enough time has passed for Hugh to stop playing games and hide his feelings and his relationship,’ a second insider said.
‘They both wanted to be considerate of their exes and anyone else that might be upset, but they aren’t interested in hiding.
‘Hugh’s close friends have seen a rejuvenated glow to him and that is all thanks to Sutton.’
They said Jackman and Foster bonded over their individual marital struggles but didn’t strike up a romance until he was ‘out of the heartbreak of his relationship ending.’
‘Things had been very rudimentary between Deborra-Lee and Hugh after the pandemic,’ the insider continued. ‘Their relationship wasn’t the same.
‘Hugh had to move with his feelings.
‘They both wanted to be considerate of their exes and anyone else that might be upset, but they aren’t interested in hiding,’ a source said of Foster and Jackman (pictured in 2022)
‘He had such a special connection with Deborra-Lee, but that is now over and he has to do what is right for him.’
Furness, who met Jackman back in 1995 on Australian TV show Correlli, has remained relatively quiet since their split, but last year revealed she had ‘big plans’ for her post-breakup career.
She also told Australia’s The Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s exciting. You know what, change, transition, evolution is a little frightening and we are all a bit scared of it but I think it is probably our greatest gift.’
Furness shares adopted children Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19, with her ex.
