Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster kicked off awards season side by side with a rare red carpet appearance, and it’s already causing a stir.
On Monday, December 1, the couple, who have been publicly dating for nearly a year, attended the 2025 Gotham Awards in New York City, where the 57-year-old actor was honored with the Gotham Musical Tribute.
Highlights
- Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster made their second red-carpet appearance as a couple at the 2025 Gotham Awards, sparking mixed reactions online.
- Fans criticized the pair for moving on “too quickly,” with some even suggesting that their alleged “homewrecker” behavior could happen again.
- Despite the backlash, many defended the lovebirds, noting that both are divorced and appear to be moving forward happily.
Their joint appearance failed to impress many viewers, sparking backlash online, with many calling the moment “cringe” and resurfacing allegations about their alleged cheating past.
“Such a plain Jane! The woman who has cheated on every partner she has had! Karma is coming Hugh!!” one furious user wrote online.
Sutton Foster attended the event as Hugh Jackman’s plus one, with the actor being honored for his acclaimed performance in the upcoming musical drama, Song Sung Blue
Image credits: Instagram/thehughjackman
The Greatest Showman star shares the screen in the film with Kate Hudson, with the duo portraying real-life Milwaukee couple Mike and Claire Sardina, who rose to local fame in the 1980s through their Neil Diamond tribute band, Lightning & Thunder.
The film, inspired by Greg Kohs’ 2008 documentary of the same name, is set for a global release on Christmas 2025.
Celebrating his big night and cheering him on throughout the ceremony, the actor’s 50-year-old girlfriend Sutton joined him on the red carpet at the 35th annual awards.
Image credits: Getty/Dia Dipasupil
The couple opted for a twinning moment, with Hugh wearing a black suit paired with a white dress shirt, black tie, and polished black leather shoes.
Meanwhile, Sutton wore a sequined, glittery black dress featuring a deep V-neckline, spaghetti straps, and a midi-length skirt, paired with matching heels.
While posing for the paparazzi, Foster and Jackman angles their bodies towards each other, sharing a side hug, and looking cheerfully directly into the cameras.
According to multiple reports and insiders, the couple allegedly had an affair while both were still married to their now-ex partners
According to bystanders at the event, the two looked “so incredibly in love.”
One source told the Daily Mail, “Sutton waited inside with a female friend for about 30 minutes while Hugh was outside posing for photos with Kate Hudson on the red carpet. When he came in the two of them lit up like a Christmas tree.”
However, their joint appearance still wasn’t enough to convince netizens to embrace the relationship.
Image credits: Getty/Taylor Hill
One user wrote, “I know they are a couple but I think out of respect for his wife of decades they don't need to be posing for pictures together at these events.”
Another commented, “Makes me cringe....wonder how Deborah feels after thirty years of supporting him???”
“Seems these days marriage is so disposable, seems not willing to fight and stay together to fix it these days… Seeing it so much more lately, sad really.”
“Feel bad his family has to see this,” wrote one disappointed social media user, expressing sympathy for Hugh’s ex-wife, Deborra-Lee Furness
Many noted how quickly the two had moved on, with much of the backlash directed at the X-Men alum, who finalized his divorce from Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness in June of this year.
Prior to dating Sutton, Hugh and Deborra were married for 27 years and share two children together, Oscar and Ava Jackman.
Foster, meanwhile, had been married to her second husband, Ted Griffin, before finalizing their own divorce earlier this year.
Image credits: Getty/Mike Coppola
While none of the four parties have directly addressed the cheating allegations, Hugh’s ex appeared to hint at them in a statement to the Daily Mail in late May 2025.
She shared with the outlet, “My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. [It] was a profound wound that cuts deep… The breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage… It can hurt…”
“If he’d do it for you, he’ll do it to you,” one person remarked in response to Jackman and Foster’s Gotham Awards date night, a sentiment many echoed, with another adding, “Very true. Let’s just say worldwide statistics are against them.”
Jackman and Foster made their relationship public in January 2025, after first developing a close friendship while co-starring in The Music Man from 2021 to 2023
Amid the wave of negativity, some fans of the lovebirds defended their relationship, reasoning that there might have been something “wrong” in their previous marriages “behind closed doors.”
One supporter said, “Why the judgement? They are both divorced… Hugh looks so much happier and younger.”
Another one chimed in, “So happy for them both great to see them so happy and so well suited to each other.”
Image credits: Getty/Bruce Glikas
In other clips from the award ceremony, Hugh and Sutton were seen animatedly chatting inside the venue.
The Logan actor was spotted holding one of his partner’s hands, while she appeared visibly grinning and in a cheerful mood as she looked at him.
But the moment was quickly dissected by eagle-eyed fans, who noted that although Hugh repeatedly initiated physical contact with the Tony Award–winning actress, “she’s avoiding holding his hand.”
The Gotham Awards red carpet marked the Younger star and Hugh’s second red carpet appearance together as a couple
Their latest outing comes just days after Jackman went Instagram official with his lady love following a year of dating.
On November 26, the actor shared a photo of Foster during an intimate performance at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City, literally gushing over her.
The post featured a smiling photo of Sutton along with a short clip of her waving at her man, who was capturing the moment.
In the caption, Hugh wrote, “@suttonlenore performing during the holidays at @cafecarlyle … now that’s an iconic NYC night! And, truly magical.”
Just a month earlier, on October 26, the duo had also made their relationship red-carpet official while attending the AFI Fest premiere of Song Sung Blue at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
“I don’t care about their past; they look in love and i think that is great for them,” expressed one fan of the lovebirds
Image credits: Getty/Gilbert Carrasquillo
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