Nicole Kidman And Keith Urban Were ‘Always Working Through’ Stuff In Marriage Before Split

In shocking celebrity relationship news, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have reportedly decided to split after 20 years together. Of course when a breakup of this caliber happens — especially after two decades and with two teenage children — questions immediately start to circulate about what happened. Looking back at the glimpses we’ve seen of their lives together since 2005, even they’ve admitted they’ve had issues.

Nicole Kidman Previously Hinted At Roadblocks In Her And Keith Urban’s Marriage

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have allegedly been living apart “since the beginning of the summer,” according to TMZ, with the country music singer reportedly getting his own place in Nashville, Tennessee, and moving out of the family home they shared in the city. Kidman hinted at issues they’ve had to work through as a couple, telling Harper’s Bazaar in 2021:

She didn’t get much into the details of what those things were that they had to navigate, but Keith Urban’s widely publicized addiction issues from the early 2000s is something that he’s spoken about as having nearly ended their relationship before it really got started.

Keith Urban Recalls Blowing Their Marriage ‘To Smithereens’ in 2006

While giving a speech about his wife as she received an AFI Life Achievement Award last year, Keith Urban revealed that big issues hit their marriage just months after the couple said “I do.” He told the crowd:

Just as in Nicole Kidman’s magazine interview, Keith Urban tells the story to prove how strong their love is to have overcome such huge obstacles so soon, but I can’t imagine it’s been an easy road, as Urban went on to suggest there were plenty of negative voices surrounding them.

It’s unknown if there was a more recent incident that caused the split or if it was the build-up of different issues, but TMZ alleges that the decision was Keith Urban’s alone. Nicole Kidman, according to sources, has reportedly been trying to save the marriage and did not want to separate.

A couple of signs of potential turmoil popped up earlier this year. Nicole Kidman firmly shot down the notion of ever working with her husband on-screen, saying being "together in life" was enough and that their “life is a show.” That wouldn’t have seemed like much of anything if not coupled with another incident just a few days later.

In an interview for a radio show, Keith Urban was asked about his wife’s sex scenes with Zac Efron in A Family Affair. The former American Idol judge didn’t respond to the question, and the Zoom call was ended, though it’s unclear if it was Urban who hung up or one of his team members.

In a breakup as big as this one, fans are going to be dissecting so many things that have happened publicly between the couple. While we don’t know why they ultimately decided to part ways, it does seem clear that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have been through a lot.