KEITH FLEES AUSTRALIA... WITHOUT NICOLE!
The crooner is making plans of his own – and his wife’s not invited
After months of lockdown-induced tension between Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, the couple’s return to Australia in July was supposed to mark a new chapter for the famous pair.
But sadly, well-placed insiders tell Woman’s Day that the parents, who share daughters Sunday, 12 and Faith, nine, are once against butting heads, and it’s all down to Keith’s plan to leave Australia, and his family, for the US!
Last week, it was announced that a massive virtual mega-concert for the 10th anniversary of the legendary iheartradio Music Festival would take place in September in Nashville, Tennessee, with the Somebody Like You singer, 52, among the top acts performing.
However, our insider says the news of Keith’s sudden plans to skip town just shortly after they arrived in Australia has left Nicole blindsided – and furious!
A TOTAL SURPRISE
“It’s come as a shock to her as she was under the impression they’d both be staying in Australia for the foreseeable future, especially given the girls have been enrolled in school,” dishes the source.
“Clearly, Keith has something else in mind! It’s not like it’s easy to skip between countries with all this madness going on,” adds the source, who reveals Keith is banking on the Australian government letting him leave, since he can prove his home base and career is in Nashville.
The family-of-four recently relocated back Down Under after the actress, 53, announced she would be producing her new miniseries, Nine Perfect Strangers, in Byron Bay.
And while Nicole and her daughters set up home in their Southern Highlands estate for the foreseeable future, Keith is said to be using his new gig as a warning to his wife!
“Keith took the gig as a way of showing Nicole he had to go back to America. By committing to such a huge job, she won’t be able to stop him from packing his bags,” continues the source. “Nicole never thought he’d commit to the iheart show, given it’s so far down the track, but he can’t imagine spending months in Australia not working on his music.”
Certainly, the year has brought the couple, who married in 2006, a new wave of challenges, with Keith revealing he was struggling emotionally at the height of the virus lockdown in May because he was forced to stop touringg and isolate.
Sources at the time told Woman’s Day that Nicole had grave fears for her husband, prompting her to keep a close eye on him.
Tellingly, the couple recently added a swanky $5 million New York City apartment to their property portfolio, sparking rumours Keith could be making plans to use it as a bolthole while he’s in the US.
“Nicole has no interest in taking her kids anywhere near a built-up city like Manhattan for quite some time until this public health disaster is sorted out,” explains the source.
“So the rumour is this Tribeca place is a bachelor pad for Keith to escape to when he needs to be on his own to write.”