He may be the world’s Greatest Showman, but it seems even Hugh Jackman is having a hard time pulling the wool over our eyes when it comes to his and wife Deborra-Lee Furness’ “amicable” split. Announcing their separation two months ago, the pair gave the initial impression, at least, that they were ending on good and peaceful terms, and had every intention of staying in each other’s lives. But last week, they both made a pretty big public display of disaffection, after unfollowing each on Instagram. According to insiders, the mutual move to distance themselves from each other in public is just the beginning of what could become a bitter divorce, and though neither party has made any reference to the split beyond their official public statement, they’re letting their ghosting do the talking.  

“Hugh and Debs are doing their usual thing of trying to downplay any drama or negativity and are insisting they’re getting on with things separately but amicably,” says an insider close to the Hollywood couple – who were married a whopping 27 years in total. “But nobody’s buying that narrative anymore, and even if they aren’t being outwardly sour towards each other, this is one hell of a U-turn from how things were just a few weeks ago. The fact that they’ve unfollowed each other is huge, and the word amongst their friends is that they’re both bucking up for a battle. In the meantime, they want to live their lives on totally different paths, without each other’s snooping or judgement.”

By all accounts, until very recently, Hugh, 55, and Deborra-Lee, 67, had one of the longest and strongest marriages in Hollywood. Having met in 1995 on the set of the TV series Corelli, they married in 1996 and later adopted two children together, Oscar, 23, and daughter, Ava – and, since then, have only appeared to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders. Indeed, Hugh suggested as much when he posted a loving tribute to Deborra-Lee in April of this year, telling her – and the world – “I love you Deb. Today is our 27th anniversary. 27 YEARS!! I love you so much. Together we have created a beautiful family. And life. Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humour, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me.”

And so, it was even more shocking when, just five months later, the former couple announced in a statement that their marriage of almost three decades was over. “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth,” they explained. “Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love and kindness.” The subtext, to fans at least, was that they planned to remain present in each other’s lives.  

Now, however, it seems like their next chapter is sending the former couple on very different paths, and their mutual decision to unfollow each other suggests they’ve fully disengaged from each other’s lives. Hugh, for his part, has been keeping busy both in work and play. Last month, the actor was pictured socialising with Hollywood friends Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively and, since then, he’s been posting selfies from both New York and London. Most recently, he sent Marvel fans reeling with excitement, after teasing a picture of himself sporting his famous Wolverine chops, confirming the fact that he was back filming Wolverine 3. 

Meanwhile, Deborra-Lee – who, when she met Hugh in the mid-1990s, was the more famous of the two – was recently pictured attending an engagement party hosted by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez. It’s also been suggested she’s been approached to potentially host her own talk show or fly-on-the-wall series. According to our insider, the actress and producer isn’t too impressed by Hugh’s choice in friends, and – now that she’s out on her own and focusing on her own future – she’s making moves to ingratiate herself in “more sophisticated” circles. She may be lesser known now in Hollywood than her superstar ex, but she’s not prepared to take a backseat and let him have all the fun and social clout. 

“Debs is a strong-willed, independent character with bags of energy and ambition,” says our source. “She isn’t going to just slink away, and she’s got no intention of giving up the showbiz lifestyle she’s accustomed to, nor saying no to offers that come her way. She is adamant that she’s building up her social life again, even if she isn’t invited into Hugh’s cool club. Her type of crowd is more elite and sophisticated, anyway.”

With their lives now so visibly diverged, the question is, how are they going to navigate the tricky waters of a multimillion-dollar divorce? Initial reports suggested that, as well as splitting their fortune of $100m, the former couple also intended to divide their number of luxury homes in both Australia and the US equally between them. But with relations having now become decidedly frosty between the pair, we’re told that friends are concerned the split may not be as peaceful as they’d previously intended, and a lot of dirty laundry could be aired in the process. 

“The worry is that things seem to be headed in a dark and increasingly divided direction,” says our source. “If and when this does turn nasty, there could be all kinds of secrets and scandals leaked, which is the last thing anyone wants. But they’re both going to stick up for themselves, so at this point it all comes down to how they negotiate through mediation. It’s so sad to think they were this fairytale happy-ever-after type of couple for so long and until so recently. It’s now becoming clear that appearances must have been very deceptive indeed.”