What Sutton Foster said about her marriage to Ted Griffin before the split

Before you find love Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster offered glimpses of her marriage for nearly another decade Ted Griffin.

Foster was originally married to a college sweetheart Christian Borle from 2006 to 2009. After her divorce from Borle, Foster was set up on a blind date with Griffin, who is a screenwriter with credits on Ocean’s Eleven, Prom and The Wolf of Wall Streett.

The couple tied the knot in 2014 after several years of dating and expanded their family with daughter Emily three years later.

“We plan these surprise dates for each other and the only rule is you can’t say no,” Foster exclusively shared. Us Weekly in 2019. “It’s not like, ‘OK, you’re going to eat a spider.’ We try to be very gentle about it.”

Foster said their “can’t say no dates” kept their romance alive, adding, “He set me up on a date once when we took a Latin jazz class at Lincoln Center. Then he took me to listen to jazz music at Dizzy’s, which is in the Time Warner Center, and we had dinner at this amazing place that we had never been to.

The actress made rare comments about her marriage before news of their divorce broke in October 2024. Foster filed for an uncontested divorce from Griffin just days before their 10th wedding anniversary.

A month later, a source told Us confirmed that Foster’s romance with Jackman led to the actor’s divorce from his wife Deborra-lee Furness.

“A lot of people on Broadway knew and we kept it quiet because they’re both such nice and amazing people. Everyone respected their privacy. But there was an affair and overlap,” an insider shared Us about Jackman and Foster, who worked together on The music man. “They are really happy now.”

Keep scrolling to see Foster’s insight into her marriage to Griffin before their surprise split:

2014

After several years of dating, Foster and Griffin exchanged vows. Her process of choosing a wedding dress was featured on TLC’s Say yes to the dress.

“I knew it made me ‘feel’ different,” she shared People of the dress she chose. “I felt very confident and knew it was the first dress I’d tried on that felt ‘right’.”

2015

Gushing over her “very talented” husband’s career, Foster told Broadway.com, “He’s like the smartest guy I’ve ever known. He’s incredibly smart.” The actress went on to say that she loves going to the theater and watching movies with Griffin because he showed her “classics,” including Rear Window, while she enjoyed more “dumb” films.

“I’m trying to bring his intelligence down a little bit,” she joked at the time.

2017

After years of fertility struggles, Foster and Griffin welcomed daughter Emily via adoption.

“Where IVF was full of disappointment and heartbreak, adoption was so clear what was meant for us,” she recalled after announcing the news at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook performance. “Our lives are forever changed and our hearts are exploding.”

A year later, Foster rolled over her daughter and told People“I’m fascinated by Emily; she changes every day. It doesn’t matter where she came from, my belly or someone else’s belly. When she was born, I thought, ‘What took me so long?’ And I realized that I was waiting for her to come into my life.”

2018

Foster didn’t remember really understanding “the concept of motherhood” until she met Griffin.

“There was something about being with Ted that made me want children,” she shared People. “He was part of my family. (I) didn’t really understand the concept of motherhood until he came around.”

2019

In Foster’s 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me interview with Usshe revealed the moment she knew Griffin was The One, adding: “I knew I was going to marry my husband when he bought me a pair of sweatpants. I still wear them and probably will them until they turn to dust.”

2020

Foster and Griffin’s relationship developed after they were in place amid the COVID pandemic.

“(This is) the first time we’ve all been together for this amount of concentrated time without one of us traveling or having to leave for work every day,” she explained to People. “Especially breakfast and dinner, we’re all sitting at the table and now my daughter wants to ask everyone, ‘How was your day?’ We all like to sit down and talk and we’ve made it a really important part of our day that we get together as a family.”

Foster noted that her family was “trying to make the most of this time,” with her daughter “really thriving” because they were all together.

2021

In a personal essay for Peoplewrote Foster how she was “always on the fence about whether” she wanted children.

“I’ve always been very career-driven, and I had such a difficult relationship growing up with my own mother. It was never clear to me,” she noted, before reflecting on her marriage to Borle. “I got married in my 30s – it didn’t last. But one thing it gave me was this little inkling that maybe I wanted a family.”

She continued, “When I met my husband, that was the first time I finally said, ‘Oh, I get it. I understand why people have families.'”

2024

Us confirmed that Foster formed a connection with Jackman before her marriage to Griffin ended.

“Deborra-lee was stunned when she found out about the affair over the course of the show,” a source told Us about Jackman’s wife. “Apparently it was Broadway’s worst-kept secret, and Deborra-lee was the last to know it. … he owned it.”

Foster has previously reflected on his friendship with Jackman and told Vogue two years before, “You tend to go into these things thinking, ‘Well, I hope we get along.’ But we just spent Memorial Day with our families.”

In a separate interview regarding Staying with Kelly and RyanFoster recalled a “wonderful” ritual between her and Jackman. “We’re just talking and catching up on our day. That’s been one of the best parts of it all,” she added. “That I’ve made this wonderful new friend.”