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Keith Urban opened up about difficulties in his marriage to Nicole Kidman one year before their split.
In April 2024, Urban, 57, honored Kidman, 58, at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala and recalled in his speech how his addiction struggles nearly tore apart their relationship.
“We got married in June 2006 and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens,” the country singer said onstage.
“And I went into the Betty Ford Center for three months. Four months into a marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban remembered. “I had no idea what was going to happen to us. And if you want to see what love in action really looks like, give that a whirl.”
“Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own and she chose love,” Urban added. “And here we are tonight, 18 years later.”
Kidman wiped away tears watching Urban’s speech from the audience with their daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14.
“That’s the thing about Nic — she loves life,” Urban continued about the “Big Little Lies” actress. “I’ve actually never met anyone who has such a passion for being alive. She knows the importance of expressing feelings, as well. I wasn’t raised like this at all, so our girls are very lucky to be learning from you, baby. I’m learning to.”
Urban called Kidman “raw” and “resilient” and noted that her mantra in life has always been to “choose love.”
“She has a capacity to love like no one I’ve ever met,” he said. “I know tonight’s all about her body of work so far. But next year will be 20 years that I’ve been madly in love with you. Congratulations, baby girl. I love you.”
Urban fought drug and alcohol addictions even before he was married to Kidman.
The “Somebody Like You” singer first entered a Nashville rehab for treatment in 1998. After marrying Kidman almost a decade later, he spent another few months at the Betty Ford Center at her insistence.
In 2016, Urban told Rolling Stone that Kidman staged an intervention for him at one point to deal with his demons.
“I caused the implosion of my fresh marriage,” he told the Australian version of the magazine in 2021. “It survived, but it’s a miracle it did. I was spiritually awoken with her. I use the expression ‘I was born into her,’ and that’s how I feel. And for the first time in my life, I could shake off the shackles of addiction.”
The Post confirmed Monday that Urban and Kidman separated after almost 20 years of marriage.
A source told Page Six that Kidman did not want to split and tried saving their relationship, while TMZ reported that the stars have been living apart “since the beginning of summer.”
Urban was the one who reportedly initiated the breakup.
The Post reached out to Kidman and Urban’s reps for comment.
Urban’s last Instagram post with Kidman was shared on May 9, when he uploaded photos of them at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Their last public appearance together was the following month at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, held at the Geodis Park stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on June 20.
A few weeks later, Urban abruptly cut an interview short after they asked about his wife’s intimate scenes with Zac Efron in their 2024 flick, “A Family Affair.”
