Nicole Kidman, in her own words, ‘owes’ her Hollywood career to her close friends Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness — so who will the starlet owe her loyalty to in their separation?
After weeks of speculation, Jackman, 56, has finally confirmed he’s now dating his former Broadway co-star Sutton Foster, 46, in two PDA-filled outings.
He and Furness, 69, were married for 27 years before they announced their shock separation in 2023 to ‘pursue our individual growth’.
Insiders claim their split could get ‘messy’ as the now-estranged couple struggle to divvy up their estimated $250 million fortune without a prenup.
While Kidman, 57, counts both Jackman and Furness among her best friends, an inside source has told New Idea she’s particularly ‘worried’ about her.
‘Nicole knows Hugh is going to be fine – he has the best team of handlers in Hollywood and he’s in the throes of his new romance,’ the insider told the publication.
Nicole Kidman, 57, is said to be particularly ‘worried’ about Deborra-Lee Furness after her split with Hugh Jackman. The pair are pictured in 2013
Kidman, in her own words, said she ‘owes’ her Hollywood career to her close friends Jackman and Furness. Pictured in 2013 with the actress’ husband Keith Urban
Kidman and Jackman starred together in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia and have had each others’ backs behind the scenes for decades. Pictured at the International AACTAs together in 2018
‘He doesn’t need her right now, so for Nicole, the focus is on Deb and she’s worried about her more than anything else.’
Kidman and Jackman starred together in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia and have had each others’ backs behind the scenes for decades.
Furness was the first to meet Kidman when she was ‘couch surfing’ in Los Angeles as a teenager before being cast in Days of Thunder, where she met Tom Cruise.
‘[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,’ Kidman told the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in a recorded interview.
‘It was expensive, we couldn’t afford hotels, so the idea of being in hub out of a house together, was really, I mean, my god.’
She added: ‘You’d go and come back and you’d go over for a few weeks and do some auditions and hope to crack it.’
‘[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,’ the Big Little Lies star said, adding that the fellow actress always gave her a place to stay when she flew in from Australia.
The Nine Perfect Strangers star has previously revealed how Furness and Jackman helped her after her divorce from Cruise in 2001.
Furness and Jackman were married for 27 years
‘Nicole knows Hugh is going to be fine – he has the best team of handlers in Hollywood and he’s in the throes of his new romance,’ the insider told the publication. Kidman and Jackman pictured in the film Australia
‘When I got divorced, Hugh and Deb were so much a part of my healing,’ she said in a candid interview with Australian Women’s Weekly.
‘They were some of my best friends through that period,’ she added.
Like Kidman, Jackman and Furness were among a small group of budding Australian actors living in Hollywood in the 1980s.
‘I do remember Tom Cruise ringing the house when she landed the role [in Days of Thunder]. Nic was always very cool and took it all in her stride,’ Furness said.
After splitting with the Mission Impossible star, Kidman went on to meet her second husband, Keith Urban.
The source adds that Kidman is ‘determined to get her (Deb) through what really is an emotionally traumatic time’, adding that she is ready to jump on a flight and be by Deb’s side at ‘any time’.
‘Deb puts on a tough front but losing Hugh to a younger actress is her worst nightmare come true,’ the insider said, adding that Furness ‘expects’ Kidman will also continue to support Jackman as well.
While this will be tough for the Babygirl actress, she has manoeuvred her friends’ high-profile break ups before and maintained her relationships with the likes of Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber.
!['[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,' Nicole said. '[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,' Nicole said. Pictured together](https://usercontent.one/wp/newsgroove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737352674_46_Nicole-Kidman-039torn-between-two-best-friends-Hugh-Jackman-and.jpeg?media=1734934250)
‘[Deborra-Lee] was one of my best friends,’ Nicole said. ‘[I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,’ Nicole said. Pictured together
Jackman’s newfound love with Foster has added to the growing tension between The Greatest Showman star and Furness, who had struggled with ‘resentment and an imbalance of power’ towards the end of their three-decade marriage.
They were reportedly working towards filing for divorce before Christmas, but were thwarted by the holidays and Jackman’s second turn in The Music Man alongside his new love interest.
They are now planning to file in New York ‘in the next couple of weeks.’
‘One of the biggest reasons why they haven’t yet filed is that they never had a prenup,’ an insider close to Jackman told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘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.
‘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.
‘A lot of moving parts need to be worked out and there is a huge amount of money involved.
The insider insisted they both want to ‘make this as easy as possible,’ but that after three decades and one partner becoming a massive A-list star, ‘it’s not quite that easy.’
Furness and Jackman met back 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.
He proposed four months later, telling Today in 2018 that he knew two weeks into meeting Furness that they were ‘going to be together for the rest of our lives.’
They were married in Melbourne, Australia, in April 1996 before adopting their son Oscar, now 24, in 2000. Five years later they completed their family unit when they adopted daughter Ava, 19.
Since tying the knot, Jackman has amassed an eye watering fortune, estimated to be around $200 million, thanks to his turn as Wolverine in Marvel’s blockbuster comic book franchise.
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.
The division of assets is also complicated by the fact the duo are ‘no longer friends’.
‘Hugh and Deborra-Lee are cordial to each other, but they are no longer friends,’ the insider said. ‘They put their differences aside to co-parent and he cares a lot about is children.’
