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Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s split after nearly 20 years of marriage came as a surprise to many.
Kidman, 58, married Urban, 57, in 2006 after meeting at an event in Australia the year before. The A-list couple welcomed two daughters during their relationship, while also juggling massive careers and lives in both Hollywood and Nashville.
On the heels of a banner year when Kidman starred in a handful of acclaimed projects, including “Babygirl,” “The Perfect Couple,” and “A Family Affair,” the Australian star’s career comeback may have created an “intense, sudden shift” in the architect of her marriage, according to Adrienne Uthe, founder of Kronus Communications.
NICOLE KIDMAN FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM KEITH URBAN CITING ‘MARITAL DIFFICULTIES’
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban may have shown marital strain prior to surprise divorce filing, experts say. (Francis Specker)
“A major career comeback or resurgence creates an intense, sudden shift in a marriage’s entire architecture,” Uthe told Fox News Digital. “We see this with Nicole Kidman’s incredible run – from her commanding presence in ‘The Perfect Couple’ to her bold step into ‘Cougar Nation’ territory with ‘Babygirl.’”
“The issue isn’t simply ‘time spent apart’; it’s about the sudden disparity in lifestyle, values, and mental bandwidth.”
Uthe noted how Kidman’s comeback likely changed the fundamental “rhythm of the relationship.”
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were last seen publicly seen together in Nashville at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group D match in June. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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“It’s often a case of one person accelerating their pace while the other has settled into a routine,” Uthe said. “The true conflict often boils down to: whose career defines the pace of the family unit now? This kind of professional re-ignition can expose existing fault lines and fuel external drama, regardless of the private reality.”
“The issue isn’t simply ‘time spent apart’; it’s about the sudden disparity in lifestyle, values, and mental bandwidth.”
The “Moulin Rouge!” actress filed for divorce Tuesday from the country crooner and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the grounds for divorce, noting “marital difficulties,” in documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Kidman also requested to be named the primary residential parent of their two minor children. Additionally, she petitioned the court to approve a parenting plan for their daughters, which allocated 306 days per year with her and 59 days each year with Urban.
Nicole Kidman starred in a handful of projects in the last year. (Michael Buckner)
In addition to “Expats” and “Spellbound,” Kidman starred in the David E. Kelley drama, “Nine Perfect Strangers” and returned for the second season of the Paramount+ series “Lioness.” Uthe noted that demanding schedules with heavy travel schedules may have prevented the couple from nurturing their partnership.
“That intense schedule is then placed under the unrelenting scrutiny of the public eye,” Uthe said. “Any rumor, even if purposely manufactured, or any simple picture taken out of context can be magnified into a massive marital crisis.”
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“That constant, external pressure cooker is a stressor that only celebrity couples have to manage, and it can erode the stability of even the strongest foundations.”
The pair’s last public outing together was in June at a FIFA Club World Cup match in Nashville between Los Angeles Football Club and Esperance de Tunis.
That same month, Urban abruptly ended a radio interview with Australia’s Mix 102.3’s “Haley & Max in the Morning” after the host inquired about Kidman during the “Wall of Truth” game.
Keith Urban awkwardly ended a radio interview after the host asked a personal question about Nicole Kidman. (Bertrand Rindoff Petroff)
“The first thing I thought of with your beautiful wife, Nicole Kidman, being on so many great movies, TV shows all the time,” Max said. “What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron having these beautiful love scenes on TV and radio?”
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As soon as the question was recited, Urban signed off the Zoom call. Co-host Hayley questioned what happened with the connection before realizing, “I think his team hung up on us because they didn’t want us to ask that question.”
Max confirmed the show hadn’t been asked to stray from any question.
“That constant, external pressure cooker is a stressor that only celebrity couples have to manage, and it can erode the stability of even the strongest foundations.”
“But he was, like, smiling,” Max said before Hayley chimed in, “I know, but he doesn’t like the personal stuff. Oh, I knew that would happen. We’ve upset him.”
She continued, “I said to you, I don’t want to have a part of this because I don’t want to ask these questions. Because he’ll hate us. I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.”
For Kidman’s role in the Richard LaGravenese-directed flick “A Family Affair,” she portrayed a widow in a love triangle with her daughter’s boss, played by Efron, 37.
Then, in the BDSM-fueled flick “Babygirl,” Kidman stripped completely nude while playing a high-level CEO who embarks on a sexual reawakening with a young intern played by Harris Dickinson, 28.
Nicole Kidman starred alongside Harris Dickinson in “Babygirl.” (A24)
Uthe added that frequent separations alone are enough of a catalyst to cause “deeper rifts.”
Kidman recently wrapped filming “Practical Magic 2” in London, while Urban has remained on tour, with his “High and Alive World Tour” continuing into the fall.
His next performance is scheduled for Oct. 2 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“For high-achieving celebrity couples, there must be an unspoken or explicit agreement where one partner takes the lead while the other provides a support structure, or they carefully alternate,” Uthe said. “When you have two global power players, the separation inevitably creates a battle not for the spotlight, but for time, energy, and priority.”
“When both partners are in demand, every decision becomes a negotiation over which career takes precedence and how to maintain focus on core family values. The distance and the professional demands can make it easier to retreat into their individual successes rather than work on the relationship, allowing minor issues to fester and become irreconcilable problems.”
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And while Kidman and Urban’s split stunned fans, those close to the country star say it was a long time coming.
It “really hasn’t been a secret,” a source told People, adding that the couple “have been living separately for a while now.”
Distance may have been a factor in the demise of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s marriage. (David Gray)
“People close to Keith felt like the split was kind of inevitable,” the source claimed. Insiders close to the couple said they had already been living separate lives, emotionally and physically, for some time.
“Their lives were moving in different directions, and once he quietly set up his own place, it felt like the writing was on the wall,” another source told the outlet.
Neither Kidman nor Urban has publicly commented on their split. “Nicole’s sister has been a rock and the entire Kidman family has come together to support one another,” a source told People following news of the high-profile breakup.
“She didn’t want this. She has been fighting to save the marriage.”
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report