Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are househunting as we speak!
Every December, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and their daughters Sunday and Faith board a plane to Australia to celebrate the festive season with their loved ones.
But this year the clan has decided it’s time to make it less an annual event, and more a permanent move!
Hot on the heels of Nicole pledging to take on more work in Australia, Woman’s Day can reveal the couple – who both turned 50 this year – have decided to make Sydney their base.
“Nicole has been longing to move back to Oz for some time now,” says a source close to the pair. “She and Keith have always said they’d eventually settle here – they were just waiting for the right time.”
And it appears that time is now. Nicole has found huge success in homegrown projects including award-winning film Lion and acclaimed TV series Top Of The Lake: China Girl. Having subsequently been showered with praise both here and overseas, she says it’s important to her she continues to support the Australian film and television industry.
SELLING UP
“I’m as definite as you can be in this world and this life,” she says of her plans to take on more work Down Under.
“There is hopefully more to come [in Australia]. I hope that’s not it. There’re a lot of things still happening. It’s exciting!”
Also making the journey home more pressing is the fact that Sunday, nine, is inching ever closer to her high school years.
“Keith and Nicole always said they’d try to move before the girls start secondary school and they know the process may take a while, so they’re trying to get their ducks in a row now,” says our insider.
To that end, they’ve quietly put one of their US properties – their Tennessee ranch – on the market and begun looking at some suitable homes close to Nicole’s mum Janelle on Sydney’s North Shore.
“Now this is done, they can start paving the way for their permanent move back,” adds the family friend.
The festive season is always a highlight for Nic, Keith and their girls, and this decision will give the clan even more reason to celebrate. “We have a big summer Christmas,” Nicole says of their annual trip home. “We go back for the heat. We want to be on the beach for Christmas, no snow.”
This year, as always, they’ll be spending time with both Janelle, and Keith’s mum Marienne, who lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
But it’s thought they’ll once again celebrate Christmas Day at Nicole’s sister Antonia’s Whale Beach home, giving Sunday and Faith – who turns seven next week – the chance to catch up with their six cousins.
Nicole and Antonia, 47, have always been close. And while Antonia spends much of the year in Singapore, they’re no doubt relishing the fact they’ll be able to spend more time together outside of just the holidays.
FAMILY TIES
With Janelle, 77, having been rushed to hospital with suspected heart problems late last year, it’s also no surprise Nicole wants to be closer to her mum as she gets older.
“They’re just excited to be back in Australia for good and to bring the girls up here,” our source says of the couple.
‘Nicole’s been longing to move back to Oz’