Hugh Jackman, 54, gave an update on how he’s doing since his split from wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 67, for the first time on Saturday morning. The actor was walking on a sidewalk in New York City, NY, when he was approached by paparazzi with cameras who asked him questions about separation. “It’s a difficult time,” he said in a video, after admitting he doesn’t feel right talking about the situation while walking on the street.
Hugh, who wore a dark gray T-shirt and black jeans during the outing, followed up his comment with an answer about when his upcoming movie, Deadpool 3, is expected to be released amid the SAG-AFTRA strike. “Well, I can’t really know until we get back to work,” he said.
The Prisoners star and his now estranged spouse, whom he was married to for 27 years, announced their separation on Friday, in a joint statement. “We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” Hugh and Deborra-Lee told PEOPLE. “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”
“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority,” they continued. “We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”
Shortly after the joint statement went public, a source told Page Six that the separation wasn’t a surprising one for the former lovebirds’ family and friends. “Friends and family knew about it,” the insider said, before also adding that trouble in their marriage may have started before Hugh returned to Broadway in The Music Man in Feb. 2022.
“Deb wasn’t at rehearsals very much,” the source added, before also claiming she “was even spotted snoozing during some of them.” Finally, the source concluded that there was no third partner involved in Hugh and Deborra-Lee’s decision to part ways, and said that they had simply become “roommates.”
