Nicole Kidman has been collecting post-divorce triumphs with such ease that the traditional revenge dress almost seems unnecessary.
It is easy to forget that the Oscar-winning actress only finalized her reportedly bitter split from country singer Keith Urban in January.
Urban was said to have initiated the separation, which was announced on September 29 last year and brought nearly 20 years of marriage to an end. People close to the Australian star said Kidman had been completely “blindsided” by the move.
Since then, the public narrative has dramatically shifted. Urban, 58, has been traveling the world on a tour that has struggled to make much of an impact, while Kidman has remained firmly in the spotlight—and appears more glamorous and confident than ever.
Only days after news of the divorce broke, Kidman stepped into the international spotlight as a guest of honor at Paris Fashion Week. Under the settlement, she reportedly kept the couple’s Nashville mansion and received the larger share of custody of their two teenage daughters.
At Chanel, she posed alongside Sunday Rose, now 18, and Faith Margaret, 15. Her crisp white masculine shirt and jeans delivered a clear message: she meant business.
Nicole Kidman has been racking up post-divorce victories that make a classic revenge dress seem almost beside the point. It is easy to forget that she only finalized her reportedly acrimonious split from Keith Urban in January. (Pictured in August)
“Nicole has certainly come out of the divorce smelling like a rose. Her life looks like a fairytale; she has it all,” a source for Our News Outlet said.
The 59-year-old then embraced a lively European summer, including nights dancing at Ibiza raves. In an interview with British Vogue, Kidman said she would eat dinner at 10:30 p.m. before heading to a club at 1 a.m., disguising herself with glasses and a short dark wig.
She also appeared alongside rhinestone-covered drag queens in a Troye Sivan music video and was photographed looking close to rumored new partner Michael Reinstein, a private equity executive, beside the pool at one of Portofino’s most exclusive hotels.
Then came Practical Magic 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the 1998 cult supernatural comedy starring Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Released earlier this month, the sequel reportedly exceeded the original film’s entire U.S. box-office total within two weeks, giving its stars plenty of opportunities to enjoy a playful publicity tour.
During a joint interview on influencer Jake Shane’s podcast on September 10, Shane read a letter from an anonymous listener who said she disliked her boyfriend’s music and wanted advice about their relationship.
Bullock immediately appeared ready to turn the question into a joke.
“This is a tricky one… Nicole?” she teased, sending Kidman and Shane into laughter.
Kidman, however, kept her answer measured and avoided any obvious dig at her former husband, who is also a musician.
“Find something you like in it [the music]. Give him a compliment. Something! Give him a bone,” she advised.
Perhaps Kidman’s decision not to publicly outshine Urban is simply a reflection of how little she needs to prove.
“Nicole has certainly come out of the divorce smelling like a rose. Her life looks like a fairytale; she has it all,” one source said. “She’s not just beautiful but wicked smart, so no one should be surprised that she handled the divorce so well. She is extremely savvy.”
Her appearance at this month’s Emmy Awards in Los Angeles marked Kidman’s first visit to the ceremony in nine years.
Wearing Chanel once again, she prompted one observer to remark that the actress appeared to be “aging in reverse.”
Inside LA’s Peacock Theater, Kidman – sat in the audience – even managed to unintentionally to become the focus of the opening monologue, with host Mariska Hargitay recreating Kidman’s famous AMC advert, in which the actress memorably says: ‘Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.’
Indeed, it seems everyone who’s anyone wants to be associated with Kidman.
Fast rising Slovak pop star Adela has even released a new single titled ‘Nicole Kidman’ – it’s gone instantly viral and is currently No.11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just days after the divorce announcement, the actress attended Paris Fashion Week with daughters Sunday Rose, 18, and Faith Margaret, 15 (right), her masculine white shirt and jeans said it all: I mean business.
Meanwhile, her appearance at the Emmy Awards this month in Los Angeles marked her first time attending the ceremony in nine years. Dressed again in Chanel (pictured), one observer commented that she appeared to be ‘ageing in reverse’.
In August, singer Charli XCX described Kidman as ‘one of our last truly legendary movie stars.’
‘She came to my show in New York when I was on the Brat tour,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t believe she came. Like, the Nicole Kidman is at my show… what the f***?’
So, what’s the recipe to behind this public relations masterclass?
One insider said: ‘Nicole has played the post-divorce game very well by focusing on her family first, establishing herself as a solid single mom. And she is a great mom.’
The insider added that the girls ‘worship her and would do anything she asked’, claiming they are now ‘much closer to their mom than their dad’ – something Urban has reportedly found crushing.
It is a very different position to the one Kidman found herself in after her 2001 divorce from Tom Cruise, when their adopted children Isabella and Connor (now 33 and 31) chose to live primarily with their father – something insiders say remains a source of deep sadness for Kidman.
This time round, the settlement with Urban gives the actress 306 days a year with Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, leaving their father just 59 days – or every other weekend.
In March, a source told Our News Outlet that Urban was feeling lost without his family.
Soon after their split, and before the divorce was finalized, Kidman took the girls to her native Australia for Christmas last year – leaving Urban behind in the States.
Then, in a cover interview for Elle Australia, aspiring model Sunday Rose credited mom Kidman as her ‘biggest inspiration in life’, failing to mention her father.
‘It’s like he doesn’t exist,’ an insider close to Urban complained to Australian magazine New Idea. ‘Keith doesn’t know what to say, but he’s trying to put on a brave front.’
Sources speaking to Our News Outlet at the time strongly rejected any notion that Kidman had turned her daughters against their father.
Instead, they argued that the girls are old enough to see the situation with their own eyes. Their father’s behavior since the divorce, the sources added, had been noted.
‘The girls are definitely Team Nicole – they’re in her corner, they’re hurt and angry on her behalf,’ a source said.
Urban has been linked to several younger women in the country music scene, including 26-year-old singer Karley Scott Collins, who has toured with him – though she has denied any romantic relationship.
‘Keith, surprisingly, has been the more emotional one post-divorce. I don’t think he ever thought he’d find himself divorced at 58. It’s kind of like he’s having a midlife crisis,’ another insider now says. ‘He’s Keith Urban. Girls are literally still throwing themselves at him, yet now he’s single.’
Another more sympathetic source, however, insisted Urban is hardly sitting at home strumming sad country chords into the void.
At the Met Gala in May this year, Kidman made a solo appearance in stunning red sequins
Kidman appeared unbothered post-split alongside Sandra Bullock during the Practical Magic 2 press tour (above)
‘Keith is not suffering, let’s put it that way,’ the source said. ‘He’s had a successful tour thus far and is enjoying being back on the road. Don’t be surprised if he comes out with some sort of breakup ballad.’
Meanwhile, refusing to be drawn on reports of new love for Kidman with businessman Michael Reinstein, another insider said: ‘She’s certainly enjoying this time of discovery and what ‘single’ life looks like in this day and age. She’s been traveling, spending time with family, but now she’s back to work and full throttle, taking project after project. She might even be doing too much and overextending herself.
‘That was one of the problems why her relationship [with Urban] wasn’t sustainable – they both were spending time on the road and it wasn’t healthy for their marriage. They spent a lot of time apart.’
Representatives for Kidman and Urban have been contacted for comment.
