Edwina Bartholomew: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness could take a leaf out of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's divorce playbook

7NEWS

29-05-2025

There is 'conscious uncoupling' and then there is whatever is playing out between Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness.
A brutal divorce statement from her.
A back-handed Instagram post from him.
The marriage of one of Australia's most high-profile couples is officially over in a very public manner.
After famously meeting on the set of Coreli, Jackman and Furness married in 1996 and adopted two children before going their separate ways in 2023.
At the time, they released a joint statement saying they had been 'blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife'.
'Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth,' the statement continued.
'Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness.'
That was September 2023.
Fast forward to this week, Deborra-Lee officially filed for divorce accompanied by some very different sentiments.
'My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal', she said in a statement.
'It's a profound wound that cuts deep.'
Ouch.
No prizes for guessing the subtext there.
The many, many paparazzi shots of Jackman and his new flame, Sutton Forest strolling hand-in-hand in New York and Los Angeles paint the picture.
We saw the first photos of the couple in January this year but reportedly the two became close while performing together on the Broadway revival of The Music Man in 2021.
As the dust settled on Deb's statement, Hugh took to Instagram to post a video of him… skipping to NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye at the Radio City Music Hall with the caption, 'FINALLY'.
Was it a statement on his divorce or finally landing a routine he had been working on for weeks? No one is quite sure but the internet has some thoughts.
'The undertone is poor form, not so Mr Nice Guy,' wrote one follower.
There is no one way to divorce in Hollywood but plenty of people have given it a good crack.
Strangely, one of the most successful splits started off as a global laughing stock.
When Gywneth Paltrow and Chris Martin announced their divorce in 2014 with the phrase, 'Conscious Uncoupling' they were laughed out of Tinseltown.
Reflecting on the split in Vogue Magazine in 2022, Paltrow admitted she was shocked by the reaction.
'The public's surprise gave way quickly to ire and derision,' she said.
'A strange combination of mockery and anger that I had never seen. I was already pretty tattered from what had been a tough year. Frankly, the intensity of the response saw me bury my head in the sand deeper than I ever had in my very public life'.
Now, there's been a shift.
'Conscious uncoupling/separation/divorce, whatever you want to call it, has now permeated the break-up culture. Instead of people approaching me with, 'Why did you say that?', they now approach me with, 'How do you do that?', Gwyneth told Vogue.
Reportedly, the divorce settlement between Deborra-Lee and Hugh is amicable with their $250 million fortune split between them and their kids well supported for life.
Hugh might just consider archiving that post to keep the uncoupling cordial.