‘I OWE THIS AMAZING LIFE TO NICOLE’
After finally overcoming his demons, the country singer is eternally grateful for his wife’s love
Keith Urban might have countless awards adorning his shelves, but this October he will have achieved his greatest prize of all – 15 years of sobriety. And it’s all thanks to wife Nicole Kidman, who, just four months after their June 25, 2006 wedding, staged a life-saving intervention that put him in rehab for the third and final time.
“It was really a profound moment in so many ways,” Keith told Oprah Winfrey in 2010 of the intervention. “The way in which Nic handled that moment was just perfect. Everything was just designed, I believe, for that moment to fuse us together.”
That night, Keith agreed to go into rehab for what was to be four tough months, resetting his life, their marriage and his work to start over fresh in 2007. And since then, the couple have never looked back.
“Nicole literally saved his life,” says a friend. “It could have been so easy for her to walk away and get the marriage annulled, but she didn’t. And it was no walk in the park that first year while Keith continued to battle his demons – the first few months of his sobriety were the hardest of her life.”
The source adds that even today, “Keith still can’t believe Nic stood by him”, but is thankful for the life they’ve built together since with their two daughters, Sunday, 13, and Faith, 10.
“They’re both living the dream with their girls, their animals and their homes,” the insider continues. “He’s even got Bugattis in his garage! Keith still gets down on his knees every morning to say prayers of gratitude for Nicole and this amazing life.”
‘I look back now and realise Nic has taught me so much...’
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
In the past, Keith, 53, has said that despite having been in rehab twice before, the reason it worked this time was “love”. “I didn’t care about anything else. I look back now and realise Nic has taught me so much and brought so much into my life and opened my eyes in so many ways... [This is] the best place I’ve ever been,” the country singer told Oprah. Friends say Keith’s postrehab mantra in life, that “I can dare to suck”, had a huge impact on their marriage. “There’s no doubt he relapsed after their wedding at the realisation she’d now be able to find out all his secrets, warts and all,” adds the pal. “He was a perfectionist and this was a real threat to him. If you remember he used to rave about his ‘amazing’ childhood, but after rehab, he admitted his father was an alcoholic. He had a lot of self-worth issues and didn’t think he deserved Nicole, which is why he began to self-sabotage via a relapse.
“Thankfully, Nicole’s seen so many of her showbiz friends deal with this problem, so she was firm but fair. Keith did try to talk her out of sending him to rehab, but she stood strong.”
QUIET REFLECTION
Now, as Keith returns to his red leather coaches’ seat on The Voice, he’s never felt stronger - in himself, or in his marriage.
And for his devoted wife Nicole, 54, the feeling is mutual.
“He’s a total hero in her eyes to have come this far. Keith is looking forward to checking in with his sobriety team to mark all his milestones over the years. These days his therapy sessions aren’t the torture they used to be,” says the source. “It’s an incredible achievement to still be together over 15 years later and they’re going to do something quiet, just the two of them.”