BACKSTAGE BLOWUP!

Nicole vs. Reese: 36 IN TOUCH SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 Big little...enemies?! Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon clash once again

Keith Urban welcomed two special guests backstage at his Aug. 24 concert in Nashville: his wife, Nicole Kidman, and her Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon. Reese even shared a photo of the three of them — all flashing big smiles — on her Instagram. “Last night in # nashville,” she captioned the snapshot. “Hanging with my friends.”

But the scene quickly turned sour. “Nicole and Reese got into an argument,” an insider tells In Touch exclusively. “A negative text about Nicole from another actress on Big Little Lies popped up on Reese’s phone, and Nicole saw it!” The timing couldn’t have been worse considering Reese, 42, and Nicole, 51, had only in recent weeks forged a fragile truce after Nicole made the bold decision to team up with Reese’s former producing partner — behind Reese’s back — for a new project (see box). “All the progress they had made came undone,” reveals the source. “The feud exploded.”

BETRAYED Nicole was angry, and she definitely let Reese know it. “Nicole felt like she was back in school with the mean girls. She accused Reese of being two-faced,” says the source. Then Reese — who insisted her efforts to repair their friendship in recent weeks were genuine — started to get riled up. “She told Nicole she shouldn’t have been reading her messages,” continues the source. “Reese was also upset that Nicole would jump to the conclusion that what this person said in the text is how Reese also feels.” (A rep for Reese denies the story.)

But Nicole knows how bitter

Reese was over Nicole’s decision to join forces with Reese’s old pal Bruna Papandrea. In late July, she discovered that Nicole and Bruna teamed up to secure the fi lm and TV rights to Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty’s new book, Nine Perfect Strangers. They didn’t involve Reese, who was largely responsible for not only getting the critically acclaimed Big Little Lies on HBO, but for championing Nicole’s work in the project, which earned the Australian actress a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and her fi rst Emmy. “It’s your typical case of Hollywood backstabbing,” an insider told

In Touch of the beef at the time. “Reese felt totally blindsided.”

Just like Nicole felt when she saw the unflattering text backstage at Keith’s concert. “Try as they might, these two women can’t seem to forge a solid friendship,” explains the source. The actresses wrapped Big Little Lies’ second season on Aug. 17 and now face having to promote the series together. “That’s going to be very awkward,” adds the source. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you see them promoting the show separately. Too much has happened now for them to come together and act like they’re super close. The lovefest is over.” ◼