Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness breaks silence on divorce: ‘Betrayal’ and ‘liberation’
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Deborra-Lee Furness, the estranged wife of “The Wolverine” star Hugh Jackman, said she feels for “everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal” as she breaks her silence on the end of their decades-long marriage.
“It’s a profound wound that cuts deep, however I believe in a higher power and that God/the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working FOR us,” Furness said in a statement to the Daily Mail published Tuesday.
The Australian actor, 69, filed her petition to divorce Jackman, 56, on Friday in New York. All filings have been processed and only a judge’s signature is required to finalize the divorce. She filed for divorce two years after she and her Oscar-winning ex announced their separation in a joint statement. The estranged spouses wed in 1996 and share two children. They adopted their son, Oscar, in 2000 before announcing the birth of their daughter, Ava, in 2005.
“Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth,” the former couple previously said in a joint statement. The co-signed release, first provided to People in September 2023, added that the two were “blessed” to have shared nearly three decades in a “wonderful, loving marriage.”
“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness,” they added at the time. “We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”
A representative for Furness did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Tuesday, but the actor made her feelings clear to the Daily Mail, speaking about “the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage.” She told the tabloid she is walking away from the marriage with knowledge and wisdom. “Even when we are presented with apparent adversity,” she continued, “it is leading us to our greatest good, our true purpose.”
In her Tuesday statement, Furness did not go into much detail about the “betrayal” and voiced gratitude for beginning a new chapter of “living within your own integrity, values and boundaries.” That, in and of itself, is “liberation and freedom,” she said.
Furness, who said “none of this is personal,” concluded her missive with even more insight about the process of divorce. “We are all on our individual journeys and I believe that the relationships in our lives are not random,” she said.
“We are drawn to people, we invite them in, in order to learn our lessons and to recognize and heal the broken parts of ourselves...I remain grateful.”
Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster’s latest public jaunt is bound to be a kick for Broadway fans: The two were seen holding hands on a date night in Santa Monica.
Jackman, star of “Logan” and “Les Misérables,” has since been linked with his “Music Man” co-star Sutton Foster. The Broadway star, 50, filed to divorce screenwriter Ted Griffin in October.
A legal representative for Jackman did not respond to The Times’ request for comment Wednesday.
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