Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster are done hiding their love

As Broadway stars, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster must appreciate that their once, not-so-secret, backstage love affair could make for great theater — maybe punctuated by some bittersweet Stephen Sondheim-esque ballads and rousing, Michael Bennett-style dance numbers.

As Foster herself said, she and Jackman developed a close bond, and reportedly more, while married to other people and while they co-starred in a Broadway revival of “The Music Man” from late 2021 to early 2023. Foster, 49, explained in a 2022 interview that she and Jackman, 56, enjoyed private, pre-performance meetings in her dressing room, and would sit on the carpet and “catch up on our day.”

“We call it carpet chat,” Foster said.

But it’s now been officially confirmed that there was a lot more to those dressing room chats than just professional bonding. As People magazine shared with the world Tuesday, the former “Music Man” co-stars were photographed the night before, walking down a streets in Santa Monica, holding hands, laughing and staring into each other’s eyes.

The Cut said the photographs mark the new couple’s “glossy paparazzi debut” after several years of keeping their romance an “open secret” in Broadway circles — and perhaps a genuine secret to Jackman’s longtime wife Deborah-lee Furness. In the photographs, the couple either appear to not be aware that they are being photographed, or that they know and they don’t care.

In the fall, the New York tabloids and other outlets began reporting that Jackman and Foster had begun a relationship during the run of “The Music Man.” In the classic musical revival, Jackman played conman Harold Hill who falls in love with Foster’s librarian Marian Paroo.

The affair reports began as soon as the Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce in October from screenwriter Ted Griffin after 10 years of marriage — “amid buzz” that she was now dating Jackman.

The year before, Jackman and Furness announced that they were separating after 27 years of marriage, but the two spoke of their separation as a mutual decision to “pursue our individual growth.”

However, following the flurry of reports about Jackman’s backstage romance with Foster, sources close to Furness confirmed to entertainment outlets that the affair was “the reason that Hugh and Deb got divorced,” Us Weekly reported in November..

“A lot of people on Broadway knew, and we kept it quiet because both of them are so nice and great people,” the source continued to Us Weekly. “Everyone respected their privacy. But there was an affair and overlap.”

Furness also appeared to confirm herself that her husband’s secret romance with Foster led to their divorce, Us Weekly reported. At one point, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig “spilled some major tea” about Furness being “blindsided” by her husband’s romance with his co-star.

In an Instagram video, Lustig said that the “Wolverine” star had “blindsided” Furness, who had given him her “whole life and career,” by “running off with the mistress.” From her private account, Furness was among the more than 26,000 who viewed and “liked” Lustig’s post, Us Weekly reported.

Moreover, Furness’ close friend, British media personality Amanda de Cadenet, also commented on Lustig’s claim, Us Weekly reported. “You are on point with this one.”

Lustig also reported that that Jackman and Foster were planning to “soft launch” their relationship publicly.

It looks like that “soft launch” has come in the New Year. Before Monday night’s sighting, People reported that Jackman was spotted in the audience at one of the final performances of Foster’s “Once Upon a Mattress” at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. He was privileged to sit next to comedy legend Carol Burnett, who originated Foster’s role in the 1959 production of the show.

The Los Angeles production of “Once Upon a Mattress” certainly explains why New Yorkers Jackman and Foster were in Santa Monica on Monday night. People magazine said the two were photographed arriving at a restaurant in Santa Monica. Jackman was dressed causally in a dark jacket over a grey shirt and white jeans, while Foster wore a tan trench coat over an olive dress.

People magazine doesn’t say which restaurant they dined at. But if it’s a certain Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, that’s known to be a celebrity hotspot, it becomes easy to imagine that this “glossy paparazzi debut” could have been well-thought out by Jackman, Foster and their publicists.