Say it isn’t so! Nicole and Keith have split? Honestly, I had all my romantic hopes pinned on them.

The couple seemed like the epitome of a Hollywood fairy tale: Nicole Kidman, the red-haired, Oscar-winning star, and Keith Urban, the reformed Nashville musician known for his heartfelt love songs, many dedicated to his wife.

We witnessed their love firsthand. Whether on red carpets, at award ceremonies, or even in candid paparazzi photos (which supposedly capture the truth), Keith always gazed at Nicole with admiration and affection, as if she were the only woman who existed.

Yet after 19 years of marriage and two children together, the dream is over. It’s the end of an era.

I won’t lie, readers, I’m shocked. And according to our sources, I’m not the only one.

Rumours are in overdrive that Nicole too has been ‘blindsided’ by the split. 

After being married for 19 years and having two children together, their seemingly perfect relationship has come to an end: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban (seen at the Golden Globes in January) have decided to part ways.

It’s hard to believe. Just a few months back, Nicole shared a romantic Instagram post celebrating her “baby” on their anniversary. It’s unlikely she would have done so if she had any sense that a divorce was upcoming.

So… what went wrong?

Yes, the blind gossips have their usual grubby theories that I won’t repeat.

On a more realistic note, insiders informed the Daily Mail shortly after the breakup that their hectic schedules and dwindling intimacy had weakened their connection, which sounds believable.

My hunch is that something far subtler than distance or time apart drove a wedge between these Nashville lovebirds.

Speculation about ‘trouble in paradise’ had been swirling around Nicole and Keith for quite some time within the magazine world – a term Australian journalists use to describe the declining magazine industry, where I once worked.

Usually the line from editors was that if it’s Nicole and Keith splitting up, you can’t run it – no matter how solid your source is.

But as the years went by, the whispers grew louder. And they weren’t ludicrous claims either. Instead, they were rumours that seemed, frankly, believable.

Rumours of ‘trouble in paradise’ had been circling Nicole and Keith for years in ‘magland’ – the term Aussie journalists use to describe our dwindling magazine industry 

This was the line we kept hearing on the Hollywood grapevine:

Nicole, after turning 50, wasn’t slowing down. She wasn’t putting her feet up, counting her millions, and enjoying a slower pace of life with Keith and their daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14. Nope. She was busier than ever – committing to back-to-back projects in both film and TV, and taking on some of her most daring roles yet.

Was Keith on the same wavelength as his wife? Perhaps not… 

Nicole has always been bold, but even I was shocked when, well into her fifth decade, she began filming some of the kinkiest sex scenes of her career.

Last year, in the sizzling rom-com A Family Affair, she straddled the gorgeous, much younger Zac Efron as the pair ripped each other’s clothes off.

Months later, in cougar-inspired erotic thriller Babygirl, she masturbates, strips off, and gets on all fours to drink milk from a saucer, before another younger lover licks the drops from her lips.

Not only did Nicole publicly say she had to take a break from filming because she was having ‘too many orgasms’ (excuse me?) but she also caused a stir by chugging a glass of milk while accepting Best Actress at the National Board of Review Gala.

The message was clear: Nicole was taking on the raciest roles of her career – and thoroughly enjoying herself.

In her 50s, Nicole was taking on the raciest roles of her career. (Pictured in March 2023)

Last year, in the sizzling rom-com A Family Affair, Nicole straddled the gorgeous, much younger Zac Efron as the pair ripped each other’s clothes off 

Months later, in cougar-inspired erotic thriller Babygirl, she masturbates, strips off, and gets on all fours to drink milk from a saucer, before another younger lover licks the drops from her lips 

Cue the inevitable headlines: How does Keith cope with it all?

I mean, it was a fair question. I was wondering the same thing too.

Nicole, of course, swore blind her husband was fine. He’s an ‘artist’ who appreciates her ‘art’, she said. He knows it’s all pretend – never mind her declaring that she needed a break from all those relentless orgasms. 

The problem is, there were signs that Keith might not have been quite as laid-back as his wife claimed.

The mask slipped in July when his interview with two Australian radio hosts abruptly ended after they pressed him about his wife’s sex scenes.

A source in Keith’s camp later told People that he wasn’t the one to end the interview – he wasn’t even hosting the Zoom apparently.

Okay, so it wasn’t Keith; it was probably a publicist instead. But why would they hang up? Unless they had reason to believe it was a difficult question for the singer…

If Keith was so unfazed by his wife’s raunchy roles, why would a question about the subject warrant such an extreme reaction?

Personally, I wouldn’t blame Keith if Nicole’s silver-screen renaissance as a 50-something sex symbol got under his skin a little.

What husband wants to see his wife in the throes of ecstasy with a younger man? Even if it’s simply a performance, it’s still got to sting.

And I doubt Nic would be thrilled if the shoe was on the other foot.

If there’s one thing I know in this life, it’s men. And even the most secure of men have an Achilles’ heel. For some, it’s the guy from the office they never trusted, or the ‘male best friend’ waiting in the wings for the wheels to fall off.

Personally, I wouldn’t blame Keith if Nicole’s silver-screen renaissance as a 50-something sex symbol got under his skin a little

Could it be that, for Keith, seeing his wife do one intense sex scene after another in quick succession wore him down? I’m not his therapist, but I know how I’d feel if I were in his cowboy boots.

No matter how forward-thinking, enlightened or artistic a man is, nothing quite chips away at your ego like watching, along with millions of others, your wife reaching an earth-shattering climax with a Hollywood heart-throb.

Even if it is in a studio, with lights and cameras. Even if you know it’s just ‘work’.

Let me turn the tables: ladies, would you be cool with your husband grunting and groaning with Margot Robbie, only to declare afterwards that simulating orgasms with the world’s most beautiful woman was simply exhausting.

I’m guessing not. 

But showbusiness is showbusiness, and the show must go on. Nicole is on a roll right now. I can’t see her switching to stuffy period dramas anytime soon – even if I do think she would make an excellent Miss Havisham.

Nicole made it in Hollywood at a time when red-headed girls from Australia didn’t make it. She married then divorced Tom Cruise. She worked hard to remain relevant, subverting expectations of older actresses in an ageist Hollywood.

Even after the birth of her first daughter, when she was considering quitting the business, it was her late mother Janelle who told her to ‘keep a finger in it’ and not ‘throw it all away’.

Perhaps those words were ringing in her mind as she weighed up some of the edgy gigs offered up in recent years. She dared to take the plunge. I think that’s admirable.

Is there truth to the theory that Keith grew weary of recent roles? Perhaps we’ll never know, and I’m not claiming to have insider knowledge.

But I’d bet the Nashville ranch that Nicole would never swap the big screen for a quiet life on the farm – even as she’s pushing 60.

And to that I say, good on ya, Nic. 

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