Hugh Jackman’s Buddy Says ‘He is Shifting on with His Life’

Hugh Jackman‘s childhood buddy is opening up concerning the actor’s divorce following his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness‘ latest comments about “betrayal” in their marriage.

Whereas talking on the Thursday, Might 29 episode of Australia’s Ben Fordham Live breakfast radio present, Gus Worland — who stated he’d identified Jackman, 56, since kindergarten in 1973 — was requested about Furness’ assertion, by which she mirrored on the “breakdown of an virtually three-decade marriage” and navigating the “traumatic journey of betrayal.”

The feedback got here after Furness filed for divorce on Might 23, practically two years after she and Jackman introduced a seemingly amicable separation.

TV and radio character Worland stated, “It’s not simply that assertion, however simply the final couple of years have been troublesome.”

“Nobody needs anybody to undergo what they’ve been by, and, after all, they undergo every little thing publicly due to the kind of folks and the celebrity that they’ve,” he added.

Worland continued, “One factor that I’ve been actually strict on, or disciplined on … is to allow them to do what they’ve needed to do. I used to be over in New York with [Jackman] simply final month and he’s superb. He’s going alongside effectively. He’s shifting on along with his life and I hope that Deb does as effectively.”

He added that he and Jackman have been godparents to one another’s first kids. The Greatest Showman actor and Furness, 69, share two kids together: Oscar, 25, and Ava, 19.

Worland, who stated it was “an extended, very long time” that the couple have been collectively, continued on the radio present, “I simply go to the children and go, ‘What can we do to be sure that they’re going to get by this in addition to attainable?’ ” 

Jackman and Furness wed in 1996 earlier than asserting their separation in September 2023 after 27 years of marriage.

Within the assertion offered to PEOPLE and first shared with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, Might 27, Furness referred to as their breakup “a profound wound that cuts deep.”

“Nonetheless, I consider in the next energy and that God/the universe, no matter you relate to as your steering, is all the time working FOR us,” Furness stated. “This perception has helped me navigate the breakdown of an virtually three-decade marriage.” 

Based on the producer and philanthropist, the method has helped her as she “gained a lot information and knowledge.” 

“Even after we are introduced with obvious adversity, it’s main us to our biggest good, our true objective. It may possibly harm, however in the long term, returning to your self and residing inside your personal integrity, values and bounds is liberation and freedom,” she stated.

Furness shared that the “one factor” she’s discovered is “that none of that is private.” 

“We’re all on our particular person journeys and I consider that the relationships in our lives should not random. We’re drawn to folks, we invite them in, as a way to be taught our classes and to acknowledge and heal the damaged components of ourselves… I stay grateful,” she concluded.

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Jackman has been romantically linked to his former Music Man costar, Sutton Foster, 50, since January 2025, after the pair have been snapped holding hands whereas stepping out for dinner in Santa Monica, Calif.

The outing got here a couple of months after Foster filed for divorce in October 2024 from her husband, Ted Griffin, following 10 years of marriage.