Country singer Keith Urban and Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman have split after 19 years of marriage, but their relationship has gone through its battles – from Keith’s alcohol abuse to a brutal swipe
The showbiz world was shocked earlier this week when it emerged that actress Nicole Kidman and country music star Keith Urban would be divorcing after 19 years of marriage. The couple were the picture of perfection when it came to their PDA moments, but away from the red carpet, they faced some turbulent times.
News of their split emerged on Tuesday (September 30) when it was reported that Oscar-winning Nicole, 58, had filed for a divorce from her New Zealand singer husband, 57, after three months of living apart. However, Keith, who shares daughters Sunday, 15, and Faith, 13, with Nicole, allegedly initiated their separation and swiftly vacated their Nashville residence.
Insiders claim the split was “inevitable” and initially it appeared that things would move forward smoothly and amicably. However, fresh revelations have since surfaced, claiming that Nicole was ‘blindsided’. Here, The Mirror takes a look at what went wrong for one of Hollywood’s most devoted couples…
READ MORE: Keith Urban changes lyrics of Nicole Kidman song to include female guitarist amid divorceREAD MORE: Telling signs Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s split is turning ugly – girlfriend to custody
Alcohol and drug battles
Just four months after they tied the knot in 2006, their relationship was rocked by Keith’s battle with drug and alcohol abuse. “We got married in 2006, and barely four months into our marriage, the addictions that I had done really nothing about blew our marriage to smithereens,” he admitted during his speech at Nicole’s AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony in 2024.
“Four months into a marriage, and I’m in rehab for three months with no idea what was going to happen to us. Nic pushed through every negative voice – I’m sure even some of her own – and she chose love,” he added.
His newlywed wife, who was working in Rome at the time, was forced to stage an intervention to help him get sober. During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2016, Keith said he would have understood if Nicole left him.
He confessed: “I was very, very blessed to have Nic call an intervention on me.” He added that his behaviour “caused the implosion of my fresh marriage”.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he admitted, “she really should’ve just walked.” He added: “I’m just so glad she didn’t, and she made a decision to turn around and initiate ultimately this intervention.”
During that difficult time, he released a statement, which read: “I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one’s guard down on recovery, and I’m afraid that I have.”
In an interesting statement, Keith recently compared listening to Ariana Grande’s new hit, ‘We Can’t Be Friends,’ to “audible heroin.” While it was seen as a light-hearted comment by many, it allegedly hit a nerve with his wife, Nicole, as it “brought back a very dark time for them when they almost split.”
“Nicole would never ask him to take down a post but she was disappointed,” an insider told Woman’s Day magazine. The source also claimed that the couple “went through hell because of Keith’s addictions”.
‘Cocaine’ clause
Following his alcohol and drug battles, the couple reportedly instituted a “cocaine” clause that would see Keith earn around £444,000 ($600,000) for every year they were married, if he remained sober. He is thought to have been sober since 2006, which would make his earnings more than £8M ($11M) from the clause alone.
‘Called out’ in front of pals
It’s been reported that Keith initiated their split after feeling “unhappy” and allegedly “called her out” in front of their friends about their relationship. “The intimacy isn’t there, they are just going through the motions [of being married]. If this separation gets them back together, that would be amazing, but Keith had to call her out that he isn’t happy”, a source told the Daily Mail.
Another source claimed to the Times that this was “allegedly in the presence of friends”. They added: “She was blindsided, but we shall see how things go during the holiday season and his upcoming birthday [next month]. They have some work to do.”
New romance rumours
Insiders in the US have claimed that Keith has already found love elsewhere. One revealed: “All the signs point to the fact Keith is with another woman. Let’s just say, Nicole doesn’t dispute that, but she’s still shocked over it.”
Another source told the Daily Mail that “everyone is talking about it”, and the new girlfriend is “younger” than Nicole. “The rumour is that he’s with a younger woman in the business. It’s all everyone is talking about. Everyone wants to know who, but so far, that’s a mystery.”
Changed lyrics
Amid rumours of a new love interest, Keith has changed the lyrics of a romantic song about Nicole to include the name of his new guitar player, Maggie Baugh. A clip of Keith singing ‘The Fighter’ song at a recent show circulated online, revealing that he had changed the lyrics “Baby I’ll be your fighter” to “Maggie, I’ll be your guitar player”.
Previously speaking about the song that had been inspired by his relationship with Nicole, he said in an interview: “It was just a very quick, quick song to write, because I literally thought about Nic and I and our relationship in the beginning, and some of the things we had said all went into that song.”