As Broadway stars, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster must remember that their once-not-so-secret love affair could lead on to great theater behind the scenes – perhaps punctuated by some bittersweet Stephen Sondheim-style ballads and stirring dance numbers Michael Bennett.
As Foster herself said, she and Jackman developed an in depth bond and reportedly much more so once they were married to other people and starred in a Broadway revival of “The Music Man” from late 2021 to early 2023. Foster, 49, explained in a 2022 interview that she and Jackman, 56, enjoyed private pre-performance meetings in her dressing room and sat on the carpet “catching up on our day.”
“We call it carpet chat,” Foster said.
But it has now been officially confirmed that those locker room conversations were about rather more than simply skilled ties. As a people magazine On Tuesday, the world was told that the previous “Music Man” co-stars were photographed the night before walking the streets of Santa Monica holding hands, laughing and staring into one another's eyes.
The Cut said the photos were of the brand new couple “High-gloss paparazzi debut” After keeping their romance an “open secret” in Broadway circles for several years – and maybe an actual secret to Jackman's longtime wife Deborah-lee Furness. In the photos, the couple seem like either unaware that they’re being photographed, or that they know and don't care.
In the autumn, New York tabloids and other media outlets began reporting that Jackman and Foster had begun a relationship through the run of The Music Man. In the classic musical revival, Jackman played con artist Harold Hill, who falls in love with Foster's librarian Marian Paroo.
The affair reports began when Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce from screenwriter Ted Griffin in October after 10 years of marriage – “amid rumors” that she was now dating Jackman.
The 12 months before, Jackman and Furness announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage, however the two spoke of their split as a mutual decision to “pursue our individual growth.”
However, following the flood of reports about Jackman's backstage romance with Foster, sources near Furness confirmed to entertainment media that the affair was “the reason for Hugh and Deb's divorce,” Us Weekly reported in November.
“A lot of people on Broadway knew, and we kept it a secret because they're both such nice and great people,” the source continued to Us Weekly. “Everyone respected their privacy. But there was an affair and overlap.”
Furness also appeared to verify to herself that her husband's secret romance with Foster led to their divorce, Us Weekly reported. At one point, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig spilled “big tea” about Furness being “blindsided” by her husband's romance together with his co-star.
In an Instagram video, Lustig said the “Wolverine” star “blindsided” Furness, who had given him “her entire life and career,” by “eloping with the mistress.” On her personal account, Furness was among the many greater than 26,000 who viewed and “liked” Lustig's post, Us Weekly reported.
Additionally, Furness' close friend, British media personality Amanda de Cadenet, also commented on Lustig's claim, Us Weekly reported. “You’re right.”
Lustig also reported that Jackman and Foster planned to publicly “soft launch” their relationship.
It looks like this “soft launch” took place in the brand new 12 months. Ahead of Monday night's sighting, People reported that Jackman was spotted within the audience at a recent performance of Foster's “Once Upon a Mattress” on the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. He had the privilege of sitting next to comedy legend Carol Burnett, who originated Foster's role within the 1959 production of the show.
The Los Angeles production of Once Upon a Mattress definitely explains why New Yorkers Jackman and Foster were in Santa Monica on Monday night. People magazine reported that the 2 were photographed arriving at a restaurant in Santa Monica. Jackman was dressed casually, wearing a dark jacket over a gray shirt and white jeans, while Foster wore a brown trench coat over an olive dress.
People magazine won't reveal which restaurant they ate at. But in the case of a selected Italian restaurant in Santa Monica that's often known as a celeb hotspot, it's easy to assume that this “glossy paparazzi debut” might need been well thought out by Jackman, Foster and their publicists.
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