There is a generation of Australian actors who came up together within the Aussie entertainment and theater scene, and then found huge success in Hollywood. Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Simon Baker, Hugh Jackman and Naomi Watts are all part of the same Oz-to-Hollywood generation. They all knew each other back in Australia and supported one another in the US. Nicole Kidman is sort of the queen bee of the group, she’s BFFs with Naomi and she’s also tight with basically all of the Aussie first wives of those actors. Nicole has spoken many times about how close she is with Hugh Jackman’s now ex-wife Deborra Lee Furness. Deb is one of Nicole’s oldest friends, along with Rebecca Rigg (Simon Baker’s ex-wife) and Naomi. That hasn’t changed now that Deborra and Hugh are divorced. But it sounds like Nicole really is the best BFF – reportedly, Nicole completely ignored Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster at the Met Gala last month.
Hugh Jackman is reportedly reeling after his close friend Nicole Kidman completely avoided him at last month’s Met Gala in New York City – making it clear her alliance lies with his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness. The Wolverine actor, 57, is a long-time close friend of Nicole, 58, co-starred with her in the 2008 Baz Luhrmann movie Australia, and is reportedly upset to see that she has been keeping her distance since his split from Deb.
‘He is hurt and puzzled. Nicole was a co–chair at the Met Gala and didn’t seem to greet Hugh and Sutton,’ an insider told this week’s New Idea magazine. ‘They weren’t photographed together and there’s little evidence that they even spoke. It’s very strange considering they go way back.’
However, they added that Nicole had been friends with Deb longer than she had known Hugh, with the pair co–starring in the 1987 Australian movie The Bit Part, so it was no surprise that the Babygirl actress sided with her.
‘Hugh is beginning to think Nicole is “Team Deb” since their split, which could explain why she has seemingly publicly distanced herself from him lately. Maybe the trust has gone?’ they added.
It follows reports that Nicole has been bonding with Deborra-Lee, as the two long-time friends quietly lean on each other through the aftermath of their very public marriage breakdowns. When Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Keith Urban started to crumble last year, she leaned heavily on her ‘ride-or-die’ friendships to help her through the darkest of times – and she wants to make sure Deborra, 70, has the same support network.
‘Nicole’s loyalty has to be with Deb as she’s been a shoulder for her many times throughout the past three years,’ an insider told Woman’s Day magazine. ‘The long-time friends have formed their own first wives club,’ according to the publication.
‘Nicole is firmly Team Deb,’ an insider told Naughty But Nice’s Rob Shuter. ‘She believes Deb was deeply hurt by how everything unfolded. Nicole isn’t interested in pretending otherwise just because Hugh showed up with a new woman on his arm.’
Nicole seems like the kind of girlfriend/BFF who judges her friends’ exes on how badly they hurt her friends. It’s clear that Deborra was reeling from the divorce, and Deb made it known publicly that Hugh absolutely betrayed her. It sounds like Nicole completely took Deb’s side, as did we all. Did Hugh really think all of his oldest Australian friends were going to welcome Sutton Foster with open arms? Did he think that he would “get” all of his Aussie friends in the divorce? That’s not the way it works. Now, I find it interesting that Nicole is still cool with Simon Baker – maybe his divorce from Nicole’s friend Rebecca Rigg was amicable.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- New York, NY Celebrities at the 2026 Met Gala, celebrating “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pictured: Nicole Kidman BACKGRID USA 4 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BFA.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Celebrities at the 2026 Met Gala, celebrating “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pictured: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sánchez, Anna Wintour BACKGRID USA 4 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BFA.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Celebrities arrive at the 2026 Met Gala Celebrating ‘Costume Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Featuring: Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, Nicole Kidman Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: TheStewartOfNY/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities arrive at the 2026 Met Gala Celebrating ‘Costume Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Featuring: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: TheStewartOfNY/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities arrive at the 2026 Met Gala Celebrating ‘Costume Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Featuring: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: TheStewartOfNY/INSTARimages
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- Nicole Kidman and Lauren Sanchez arriving at the Met Gala in New York Today Featuring: Nicole Kidman Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: Elder Ordonez/INSTARimages
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- Nicole Kidman and Lauren Sanchez arriving at the Met Gala in New York Today Featuring: Nicole Kidman Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: Elder Ordonez/INSTARimages
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- Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster arriving at the Met Gala in New York Featuring: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 04 May 2026 Credit: Elder Ordonez/INSTARimages
Isn’t their Rumors that Nicole and Simon are dating now? If that marriage ended no drama just ran its course than I can see why Nicole would be cool with both people who were in the marriage.
Exactly. Also, since Nicole has been dealing with her ex husband’s frosted tipped midlife crisis divorce, she’s probably over these men and their bullshit.
I have a very close friend who’s ex-husband was a friend of my husband’s. He was also a massive asshole. When she let us know she was leaving him (and I didn’t have to be polite anymore) I told my husband, “Just so we’re clear, SHE gets us in the divorce. If you want to maintain a friendship with him, that’s your choice, but I’m not.”
Good for Nicole being unequivocally Team Deb.
Leaving a decades old marriage and betraying your wife is a character revealing stunt. I can’t believe H.J. Expected anything less from his wife’s old friend. Nicole’s reaction also reveals her character, loyalty is a beautiful quality in a friend. Good for her!
Leaving the marriage isn’t the problem. That the marriage ended in betrayal and he couldn’t even separate from his wife before diddling with another woman is the huge issue. That is the character revealing part IMO
Nicole Kidman reminds me of Taylor Swift. Ignoring people because they “betrayed” you by divorcing your friends is childish. Unless the divorce was prompted by spousal abuse, or, say, one party contracting gambling debts, of cultivating a drug addiction, or rampant infidelity, …..people divorce. People cheat. It’s sad but it’s life. Jackman and Foster are now clearly a couple so this wasn’t a fling. It’s a legitimate uncoupling / re-coupling. It happens. Grow up.
If ignoring a close friends pain is a sign of maturity I hope I never grow up.
Ditto
Ew.
I have always held out the belief that if someone in a marriage is unhappy, they need to “un-couple”, aka divorce, BEFORE “re-coupling” with someone else given the massive amounts of damage and hurt such relationships leave in their wake. Otherwise the cheater is nothing but a lazy, selfish scumbag. And, nah, I’m not going to “grow up” and excuse such bad behavior.
I don’t consider holding lifelong friends to a standard childish. Nicole has been in Deb’s shoes so she obviously would feel for her friend.
People often disappoint that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t suffer consequences.
@yankeedoodles sounds like a comment by the “takes one to know one” to me
MMRB That was my first thought as well. I didn’t have the guts to say it; I’m glad you did though
I don’t think it’s a stretch to posit that excusing terrible behavior because “ it happens “ got us the present administration.
I thought so. Next level “pick me” or a perpetrator who’s upset that they caught consequences. Marriages do break up or don’t just work out. Be an adult and break up before you pick another partner that you introduce to everyone.
A public affair while married is pretty much the definition of “rampant infidelity”. Someone needs to grow up and it’s not the people condemning adultery while married.
Sorry, but I can’t/won’t be friends with someone whose moral compass is so diametrically opposed to mine. If someone shows their whole ass to you, it’s not wrong to disassociate from them.
😬
Cheating is abuse. Full stop.
They were married 27 years and if he was unhappy, he could have left in an ethical way, vs starting a relationship with Sutton behind her back.
‘People cheat.” Sure, and when they do they reveal something deeply lacking in their character. To cheat, you have to lie an sneak around. It’s gross.
@yankeeDoodles: They were CHEATING. You DO NOT go after someone who has a partner.
Cheating doesn’t just “happen.” It’s a conscious choice to betray your partner, in the worst possible way. The whole point of a marriage is trust and comfort. When your spouse destroys that, it’s horribly traumatic. Sutton was also married, with a seven-year-old daughter whose family was turned upside-down. But — hey! It “happens.” C’mon.
I had a massive crush on Hugh in the early 00’s. But his face has changed and now he looks like a grown up baby. I cant put my finger on it exactly but he used to be rugged and sexy and now hes smooth and doesnt 100% look like himself. Guessing too much surgery?
Either way – good for Nicole!
Yes! I was looking at his recent pictures and wondering much the same thing. Could it also be linked to losing all his body fat to play Wolverine so now he’s a bit gaunt? He definitely looks different and not in a good way.
Nicole as cheated on by her own husband who she stood by through his substance abuse treatment issues — so I imagine that she would feel some type of way about Hugh and how he did Deb dirty.
I’m still disappointed in Sutton because she was cheated on publicly by her first husband with HIS co-star. I just think people are messy as hell and don’t consider each other enough.
Loyalty. Best actress for me.
Nicole hasn’t said one public comment or done anything rude. If she wants to avoid a painful situation, there’s nothing wrong with that. Leave her out of this mess.
“‘He is hurt and puzzled.” Really?!?! these guys are so clueless and un-self-aware as to be unbelievable. Sutton, darling, why don’t you take your man aside and explain how women don’t like men who cheat, the women they cheat with and don’t have to play nice just to ease your conscience. Oh, wait…..
So everyone on here rightfully believes zero the Daily Mail writes about Meghan and Harry, but believe this? LOL I don’t doubt that Nicole might have made sure not to be in the same area, but I also think if she ended up in the same vicinity, she would be polite and not ignore him. Two different things. I just think, as usual with the Daily Mail, it is another made-up story to fill their pathetic pages.
Simon left his wife and has dated younger women. Everyone on here says Nicole is best friends with his ex. Well, I don’t think recruiting him to play opposite her in her TV show is wrong at all, but she really was playing up the rumors about them romantically and being very flirtatious during promotion and red carpets. I think this was all to show up Keith, who she is still reeling from his wanting a divorce, and to promote Scarpetta. BUT I find that coyness about Simon while promoting the show to be pretty rude to his ex-wife if she really is BFFs with her.
I don’t think any of us are actually commenting on the veracity of the claim – more on the reasons we wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, and that if true we are totally on Team Nicole/Deb.
I am such a passive petty person, if my BFF was receiving alimony from her ex, I’d make sure the ex was gainfully employed if it was in my power. (I have no knowledge on whether this is the case at all, just speculating because this is a gossip site)
@Graphinya, except the Daily Mail was reporting that Simon’s ex, who is Nicole’s best friend from school days, was very upset by her behavior with him during promotion, holding hands, being coy and flirtatious about him. Again, it’s the Daily Mail. I take anything they say with a grain of salt, just like the Hugh Jackman story. Although, if my best friend were playing all coy with my ex for promotion, it would piss me off. Simon is into young women in their early 30s. So I doubt any of it was true anyway.
I laughed out loud at that description because of course he is totally befuddled by anything less than the absolute adoration he’s become accustomed to, and wonder why his ex-wife’s longtime friend might be side eying him and not cheering his exciting new romance. Embarrassingly clueless.
Simon Baker is a co-star in NIcole’s new detective series. She is also godmother to one of his children.
These people are all friends with Rupert Murdoch. Ick.
Not only Murdoch supporters but worse still, DLF was one of the major agitators for regressive child protection laws that were bulldozed through by the former conservative government in NSW, Australia – the tabloid media’s darling face of the forced adoption laws – and she didn’t even go here! Hadn’t lived in Aus for years at that point. The reforms have had a terrible and disproportionate impact on Indigenous children, youth and families especially and on other children and families that have significantly eroded children’s and vulnerable families’ rights and did not achieve the promised improved safety and stability – that’s because they were never really about the children’s needs at all. Sorry, not sorry – no sympathy for her whatsoever.
Jackman is godfather to two of Murdoch’s kids. Gross.
Nicole is godmother to those same two children.
Nicole Kidman has stated that she would not have had a career if not for Rupert Murdoch. The Scientology machine would have destroyed her reputation after the Tom Cruise divorce. Rupert Murdoch refused to play along. Everything is not always black & white.
I’ve never understood this perspective because it seems to borrow from suppressed rage or something, but if a man meets someone, starts an affair, the relationship sticks, it’s clear they’re in it for the long haul, he divorces his wife, and she’s free to move on, why is he some kind of demon? I get that it’s messy. I get that people who were the betrayed former wife’s friends would obviously take her side. I get that their loyalty is to her. But are we seriously saying that the ex-husband and his new partner must be shunned and stripped of their dignity and acknowledgement in any society? Cause that’s nuts. It’s cruel. And it sounds more like an ayatollah than a grown up talking. People split. It’s not the scarlet letter. There is often overlap in relationships, it’s just in the nature of things. I’m not speaking from personal experience. Fortunately. I have only been married once and we’re still going. Thankfully. But I think I got lucky.
But who’s shunning them from society? They seem free to go where they want and converse with who they please. They’re not blackballed from Hollywood or cancelled–they still have their careers.
It’s completely natural for a woman who’s going through a painful divorce to bond and side with her best friend who’s going through the same thing–over her husband. Nobody is being burned at the stake but infidelity has many, many consequences and sometimes that means friendships ending up in the dustbin of history. No harm, no foul IMO.
“… but if a man meets someone, starts an affair, the relationship sticks …”
Assuming the man in question is married, in your scenario there is a whole series of decisions, choices that man is making in between
“meets someone”
and
“starts an affair”
His attitude, behaviors are obviously coming from a place of “interested in sexual/romantic/intimate attention from someone who is not his spouse, he’s choosing to make him self available to that person, flirt with them, make time to be alone with them, get to know them, interact with them in a way that signals interest, etc etc.
At any point throughout that series of *choices* that man could hit pause and think
– hey self, maybe toying with exploring, deepening my connection with fresh person maybe isn’t a great idea … given I’m already in a whole-ass marriage to another person who I vowed to love, honor, respect, built a life with
– hmm … maybe my interest in this novel person is indicating my feelings towards spouse have changed
– since I’m a grown up, i should probably talk to spouse, let them know I’m over it, no longer want to be in a monogamous relationship with them, settle our affairs BEFORE I’m out there publicly playing the field or letting myself act on these new feelings I have for fresh face
Heck, even if the guy stumbled in the dark into an accidental, irresistible embrace with new face (unlikely), at the very least let your spouse know you’re leaving before publicly making goo-goo eyes, mooning over your new affair partner. And have some respect afterwards, don’t immediately do pap walks, make out in cars in fast food parking lots etc etc
@YankeeDoodles, are you saying that having affairs is fine, because they help someone know whether their affair relationship will “stick” and they can know “they’re in it for the long haul,” and THEN they can divorce their current long-haul spouse?
And if so, does that mean affairs are only wrong if…they fail to stick/become long term?
But then you…what, stay in your marriage?
Maybe look for someone else to cheat with and hope it “sticks” with the next one?
If that doesn’t sit right with you, you might rethink what you wrote above, because that is the implication and premise behind your claim.
You’ve made a few comments on this post about how NK should grow up, rather than choose to avoid her BFF’s cheating ex-husband and his affair partner, because you seem to think having affairs is the appropriate way to test drive new relationships so you can be sure it will stick before leaving your current one, but…isn’t the mature thing to do to uncouple and THEN recouple, as you say upthread?
Not recouple and then uncouple, which is what you’re actually describing in your posts.
@DK My friend has a saying/ warning to affair partners “If they’ll do it WITH you, they’ll do it TO you. ”
Wife #2 that used to be the mistress should automatically prepare for there to be a wife #3. Don’t be surprised when it happens, because you knew how you got them.
Really? You don’t get that walking out on your spouse who gave up their career to support yours, blindsiding them with your affair is a devastating and while he’s not a demon, he’s a crappy person. All of this should have been done behind closed doors before you start running around with your new partner. I don’t know if you’re trolling or the most clueless person ever to hit this space. You have a nice day.
That is such a dispassionate account of a very ugly hurtful situation. You’re completely glossing over or dismissing the feelings of the spouse. I’ve been married 32 years, every marriage has its ups and downs but I know this much,if I ever started entertaining the idea of cheating I’d know it’s time to get into counseling or time to get out.
The fact that HJ’s new relationship seems to be “sticking” has no bearing on the ethics of his behavior.
I’d question anyone not firmly in Deb’s corner. He has behaved like an ass and should be treated accordingly.
I hardly think that NP avoiding Hugh constitutes them being “shunned and stripped of their dignity and acknowledgement in any society.” NP just didn’t want to talk to him, as is her right.
The Met Gala photo with Wintour and Chloe Malle is so fun, Nicole is towering over them like she’s a different species.
You can almost hear her thinking, I’m a tall woman and I Iove my heels. Deal with it.
She looks stunning – she is also towering above all the people around her lol!
Way to go, Nicole! Always a fan!
Jenny, absolutely right. Nicole has chosen a side, and it’s her friend who has been done dirty. Good for Nicole. Many people in show biz will side with Hugh and his tart and that’s bc Hugh is the big movie star and his prior spouse is not. It does show good character for Nicole to abide by her friend. Of course, Nicole is a bigger movie star than Hugh and I think it will cost her nothing to take this stance. And her husband cheated on her with a younger woman too. Female solidarity is a beautiful thing.
I think there’s a legitimate issue of bad faith / good faith. People fall out of love. They grow apart. They do things perhaps that they shouldn’t and get involved in other relationships. While married. We are not all saints. I’m not speaking from personal experience, I’m in a relationship that’s fortunately blessed by the mundane run of irritations and drive-each-other-up-the-wall moments, but both of us are committed. But having an affair is not an offence for which we stone people, thank god. It happens. If — afterwards — a couple wants to reconnect, and re-establish trust, I give them all the credit in the world, I salute their grit and mutual respect. If one or the other wants to call it quits, that’s up to them. Nothing to do with me. No judgement. Whatever happens, both do best to move on. You can hang onto a grudge but it’s sort of pointless. I don’t think Jackman should hide under a rock. He’s clearly serious about Foster. It’s not great the way it started. But years have passed. I don’t get the bitterness. That’s just my vibe.
Well said.
@yankeedoodle: it doesn’t *happen* . Its a series of choices to cheat on your spouse.
Is anybody stoning Jackman or Foster? No. Nicole simply might have ignored them, most people didn’t or won’t, he’s a big star. Perhaps Nicole feels empathy regarding the betrayal her friend Deborra suffered, as a lot of people here do, betrayal is a very painful experience and very different from ending a relationship and starting a new one. The word “overlap” is a grosse simplification used by cheaters to minimize the hurt they’ve caused. I don’t understand is how some people can just gloss over it. People’s “vibes” are just different, thankfully.