Hugh Jackman's Girlfriend Is Two Decades Younger Than Deborra-Lee Furness

It sounds like a plot straight out of Broadway: Two actors playing romantic leads in a famous musical carry their onstage love story offstage. Plot twist: Neither one is single! Will they choose love or marriage? In the case of Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, romance won out. Much as they tried to spin their relationship as a just-good-friends kind of thing, it was clear from the pair's Insta posts and PR photos that "The Music Man's" Harold Hill and Marian Paroo were smitten. But having to end their respective marriages made Jackman and Foster's romance considerably messier than normal. 

The Broadway legend's split from screenwriter Ted Griffin was relatively simple; not so Jackman's from Deborra-lee Furness. The beloved couple had been married for 27 years, shared two children, and seemed rock-solid by all accounts. In fact, Furness was completely gobsmacked by her husband's decision, confessing to the Daily Mail that it was a "betrayal" and "a profound wound that cuts deep." The age difference between the "Wolverine" star and his ex was one of the most notable things about their relationship. 

Furness acknowledged on the "Aussies in Hollywood" podcast that she was determined never to date anyone under 30. But when the couple worked together on an Australian TV show, the fact that Jackman was 13 years her junior suddenly didn't matter to either of them. The "Greatest Showman" star, for his part, proudly told People in 2017, "I'm literally the adult in this relationship." Yet there's no denying that his new love interest is younger than he is — and much younger than his former wife to boot.  

The "man leaves wife for younger woman" trope may be tired, but it's not totally extinct. One example that immediately comes to mind is Donald Trump Jr., whose girlfriend Bettina Anderson is eight years younger than him. The two became an item even before Don Jr. had officially broken off his engagement to Kimberly Guilfoyle — who, by the way, is nine years older than he is. Similarly, Hugh Jackman is now the older one in his new relationship with Sutton Foster, after nearly three decades as the "kid" in his marriage to former wife Deborra-lee Furness. Foster turned 50 in March 2025, and Furness will be 70 later in the year, meaning the two loves of Jackman's life are a whole generation apart.

While the age factor may have had absolutely nothing to do with either split, it nonetheless plays into the equally tired stereotype that women become less desirable as they grow older, and that men are justified in wanting to be with someone much younger as a result. Furness hasn't discussed the details of the divorce or addressed the age issue, reasoning to the Daily Mail that she trusts the ordeal will ultimately work out to her benefit. 

"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 talented multihyphenate stated. On the other hand, the Daily Mail also reported that Furness was keeping a blow-by-blow diary of the complicated breakup, which she wants to publish as soon as the legalities are taken care of. It's reportedly brutally honest, which means we might very well learn how Furness feels about being replaced by someone who could be her daughter.