Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster ‘shocked by the reaction’ but remain hopeful even as Christmas plans unravel

Christmas is stressful enough with the whole world wanting to reckon with your potential new relationship and whether it’s ending your two marriages.

Unfortunately, that’s what Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster are experiencing this holiday season.

Although there are rumors that the new couple wants to get together with their children on vacation, they are not having as much fun with their loved ones as they had hoped.

First came the news that Jackman’s ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness had disrupted the Wolverine actor’s plans to spend Christmas with his children and new girlfriend.

An insider told Woman’s Day Furness wasn’t keen on the idea of ​​her children, 24 and 19, spending the holiday with their father and Foster, and that it would take some time for their loved ones to adjust to the “new” environment. normal” and play big happy family.

This source’s claims were later echoed by an anonymous source who said: closer The former Broadway co-stars are preparing to spend less time together over the holidays to allow their loved ones to adjust, she said.

“They are living apart because of the kids and are prepared to spend much less time together on holiday than they would like.” An insider mentioned Jackman and Foster.

They said they expected some awkwardness when the couple got together after playing love interests on stage in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, and were “a little shocked at the reaction they received” when romance rumors began to spread. radiate.

“They were expecting some of it, but not this much,” the source added.

Any excitement around the potential show was soured when Furness and a close friend seemingly confirmed social media rumors accusing Jackman, 56, of having a backstage affair with Foster, 49.

Gossip accounts said that’s why the Aussies are ending their 27-year marriage in September 2023 (eight months after The Music Man ends its Broadway run).

Furness ‘liked’ the video, which claimed Jackman had eloped with his mistress while the Aussies were still married, and close friend Amanda de Cadenet commented that the gossip account was “in line with this one”.

But the source told Closer that the couple is still “hopeful that something can be worked out.”

“There was a time when both families were socializing before things got messy, but now it’s hard,” they continued.

“Even if they can’t open presents together at Christmas, Hugh and Sutton are talking about going somewhere in the New Year for some needed R&R.”

The publication had previously heard from a different source claiming that The Music Man couple’s romance was a real thing, not just a rebound fling, and that Jackman saw Foster as “The One.”

“He’s been attracted to her for a long time and feels a deep connection that he can’t ignore,” they said, adding that Foster’s connection was “something no one saw coming.”

“They fell in love, plain and simple.”

Ever since Foster’s divorce from husband of 10 years Ted Griffin sent the rumor mill into overdrive, anonymous insiders have leaked tidbits of information about the gossiping couple left, right and center; some said their love was “an open secret on Broadway”.

Neither Jackman, Foster nor the couple’s representatives have officially commented on the reports.