Bitter new twist in Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness’ divorce battle leaves estranged couple struggling to reach a resolution

They vowed to navigate their split with ‘gratitude, love, and kindness’ but relations between Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have soured, with the estranged spouses now stuck in a bitter tussle over money, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Furness, 69, and Jackman, 56, announced the end of their 27-year 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.’

In January, they were a matter of weeks away from filing for divorce in New York.

But, two months later, and Hollywood’s once happily married couple are at an impasse as Furness believes she is ‘entitled’ to more money – and Jackman is refusing.

‘Hugh and Deborra-Lee have not yet filed for divorce because they are struggling to reach an agreement on how to divide their assets,’ a source said. ‘Deborra-Lee feels entitled to more money than Hugh is willing to offer.’

Her insistence on getting a bigger chunk of their estimated $250 million fortune is in part fueled by the murky origins of his romance with Broadway star Sutton Foster.

‘While he didn’t physically cheat on her with Sutton, Deborra-Lee believes they were having an emotional affair and she feels he betrayed her,’ the source continued.

Their marriage started to fall apart during Covid, as previously reported by DailyMail.com, around the same time that Jackman struck up a friendship with Foster, his costar on the 2022 Broadway revival of The Music Man. She was married to Ted Griffin at the time.

They finally confirmed their romance in January with what fans deemed a staged picture opportunity as they left a Los Angeles restaurant hand-in-hand.

Sources close to Jackman have always insisted there was no overlap with him and Furness by the time he started dating Foster.

But it’s of little comfort to Furness, who is said to be using his new relationship to get what she believes she deserves financially.

‘With a significant amount of money at stake, Deborra-Lee is determined to get what she believes she deserves from the separation,’ the source said.

‘She is using the fact that Hugh is still married and involved with another woman against him.’

Furness and Jackman met in 1995 on Australian TV show Correlli, when she was a major star, and he was enjoying his first role fresh out of drama school.

After a whirlwind four months he proposed, and in April 1996 they were married in Melbourne, Australia.

They adopted their son Oscar, now 24, in 2000, followed by daughter Ava, 19, five years later.

Since tying the knot, Jackman has amassed an eye watering fortune, estimated to be around $200 million, thanks in part to his turn as Wolverine in Marvel’s blockbuster comic book franchise.

He retired the role in Logan in 2017 before reprising the character last year with box office smash Deadpool & Wolverine alongside his close friend Ryan Reynolds.

One of Hollywood’s Mr Nice Guys, Jackman has also enjoyed a number of Broadway roles, earned critical acclaim for Oscar-nominated films including Les Miserablés and The Prestige, and has built up an envious property empire with Furness.

The couple bought their first apartment together for $240,000 AUD in 1997, before selling the two-bedroom property for $740,000 AUD in August 2015, earning themselves a tidy profit of half a million dollars.

They then splashed out on a three-storey apartment in the Meier Towers building in New York City’s West Village in 2008 for $21 million. They listed the five-bedroom ‘triplex’ for $38.9 million in 2022. It is unclear if it has sold.

They currently own a $3.5 million, 2.5 acre property in East Hampton, New York, which they reportedly rent out for $166,666 per month, a $5.9 million Bondi beach house in Sydney, Australia, and a $21 million penthouse in Manhattan’s affluent Chelsea neighbourhood, which they bought one year before they split.

Insiders previously told DailyMail.com that their decision to dismiss a prenup is proving to be a point of contention.

‘When they got married, they thought it would be forever. Who doesn’t? At the time, neither of them expected Hugh’s career to get as enormous as it has,’ said a source in January.

‘Because there was no prenup, and he made a fortune during their marriage, this divorce is not going to be cut and dry. It may even get messy because the stakes are high.’

The division of assets is also complicated by the fact the pair are ‘no longer friends.’

‘Hugh and Deborra-Lee are cordial to each other, but they are no longer friends,’ the insider added. ‘They put their differences aside to co-parent and he cares a lot about their children.’

The pair blindsided fans when they announced their break-up in a short statement in September 2023.

‘We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,’ they said.

‘Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness.’

Sixteen months later, Jackman went public with Foster, and despite feeling ‘betrayed,’ Furness was said to be relieved on seeing images of them together as it finally confirmed her ‘suspicions’ that the pair would become an item.

A separate insider said Jackman would be living a ‘nightmare’ if it wasn’t for his new girlfriend.

‘Sutton takes Hugh away from the divorce drama, if he wasn’t with her – and Deadpool hadn’t been on the table – it would have been a nightmare,’ they said.