Keith Urban and wife Nicole Kidman will soon be celebrating their 15 years of marriage. And they’re definitely stronger than ever and obviously still smitten with each other as they did on day one. According to the Nashville-based country singer, meeting the actress and marrying her was not life-changing. For him, it was life-beginning.
So, let’s start from the very beginning and walk down their love story lane – from how they met to their vows to their struggles and overcoming them to the secret of a love that lasts.
First Chapter: ‘Way out of my league.’
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have proved time and again how they are just so right for each other. Here’s how everything started.
The two first met at the G’Day USA gala in 2005, an event that honors Australians in Los Angeles. As Kidman told it, their story was like the classic girl-meets-boy with a twist. And that was, the boy wasn’t really into the girl. She had such a crush on him that night, but it seemed like two things: he didn’t notice her, or he just wasn’t interested in her.
But Urban set the record straight that he did notice her, and he just didn’t let on. And second, it was his lack of confidence that held him back from calling her for four months.
Someone had already given him her number and he had it in his pocket for a while. He thought that if he called, she would answer but he didn’t know what to say. To Urban, the A-list actress was way out of his league, and never in a million years did he think that he would end up with her. When he met her, he felt this aura that she was so out of reach.
When he finally had the courage to pick up the phone, everything afterwards felt like a whirlwind. They started talking and it was just effortless. Kidman just fell for him so hard and so fast; she already knew that he was the love of her life. And with a romantic motorcycle ride with her arms wrapped around the country music singer as they rode through Woodstock, New York ending with a romantic picnic really sealed the deal.
The couple exchanged vows on June 25, 2006 in a candlelit ceremony at Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel on St. Patrick’s Estate at Manly in Sydney, Australia. Among the 230 witnesses of their beautiful union were Kidman’s best friend Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann.
Then they enjoyed their honeymoon in French Polynesia, wherein they got to know more about each other. According to Kidman, getting married first then getting to know each other sounds incredibly strange, but to her, it was a more natural process. And it surely worked for them.
Who is Keith Urban’s wife, Nicole Kidman?
Nicole Mary Kidman or more popularly known for her screen name, Nicole Kidman, is an American-born Australian actress and singer. She was born on June 20, 1967 to parents Janelle Ann and father Antony Kidman (who were temporarily in the US on student visas).
When she was four, her family returned to Australia. During her primary and high school years, she had already shown an affinity for acting. She first aspired to be an actress after watching Margaret Hamilton’s performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in the popular story of The Wizard of Oz.
She studied at Phillip Street Theatre alongside Naomi Watts; then, she also went to attend the Australian Theatre for Young People. Now, she is one of the most celebrated, most influential, and highly paid actresses in the industry. The award-winning actress is known for her roles in Moulin Rouge, Big Little Lies, and one of the most recent Aquaman.
Before Urban, Kidman was married to Tom Cruise. The couple tied the knot when she was just 23, and they adopted two kids together – Isabella and Connor. But after 11 years of marriage, the couple split in 2001.
Second Chapter: ‘She believed in him.’
Just a few months after their wedding, their marriage faced a very difficult challenge. Urban, who had been battling through his alcohol and drug abuse issues, checked into the Betty Ford Center, where he spent three months rehabilitating. He knew at that point that he was going to lose it all if he didn’t choose that moment to do the right thing and do something that would give him life. Everything that he was scared to lose, he was going to lose.
To show her full support, Kidman called off the rest of her press tour for Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. She was more than willing to walk it with him.
The two decided to be publicly open with their situation as Kidman recalled a decision that has been a huge lesson for her. In an interview in 2007, she reflected how she and Keith were two lonely people who met at a time when they could be open to each other. They were a mixture of both frightened and brave.
Urban also expressed how they met each other at the exact right time. Kidman told him early on that she wanted to be brave with him. And it felt for him like there was something else at work that brought them together and continued to watch over them. And despite all odds, their marriage survived like a miracle. Urban said that for the first time in his life, he could shake off the shackles of addiction.
In 2006, he released the song “Got It Right This Time,” which was one of Keith Urban songs inspired by Nicole Kidman. And if you read the lyrics, the song’s message couldn’t be clearer: She believed in him, and she made him a better man.
Third Chapter: Building a Family
On July 7, 2008, Keith and Nicole welcomed their first child Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, who was known as “Sunny” to her family. She was named after the Australian art patron and muse Sunday Reed and Urban’s grandmother Rose.
And two years later, on December 29, they had their second child named Faith Margaret. Although Faith is their biological child, they had a surrogate mother carry her. Before and during her marriage with Urban, Kidman had been experiencing fertility issues. The two met each other when they were in their late 30s, and Kidman wished they had met earlier so that they would’ve been able to have a bigger family. She wanted two more kids with him, but it just wasn’t meant for them.
And despite being a couple who has long been open with everything that happens in their lives, Keith and Nicole took a more private approach to raising their kids. Keith Urban kids weren’t in the spotlight except for a few Instagram photos and on-screen appearances, just as they did in Big Little Lies in season two.
Now, Keith Urban and wife Nicole Kidman are enjoying their best and busy lives alongside their kids, who are also getting the hang of their parents’ schedules (and despite divorce rumors that always float around).
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Keith Urban, nicole kidman