Inside Nicole Kidman's Relationship With Keith Urban

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's relationship is one that country love songs are made of. The star couple has been married for 15 years, which is a long time according to Hollywood standards. While they remain crazy for each other after all these years together, their path to true love hasn't always been easy.

Before Kidman married Urban, she was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. Their divorce made an impact on Kidman, recalling the time shortly after as "the loneliest I'd ever been" (via Entertainment Tonight). On Urban's end, he had been previously involved with model Niki Taylor and engaged to Laura Sigler. He also had a "wild rocker" past, which included partying and struggles with alcoholism, and credits meeting and falling in love with Kidman for his sobriety. "That was how I was able to keep it together," he told Rolling Stone in 2014.

Now, the couple is known for their strong bond and enviable joy they have in each other's company (after all, they're known to sing together, too). For this reason, let's take a closer look inside Nicole Kidman's relationship with Keith Urban.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban first met back in 2005 at an event that honored successful Australians. According to Kidman's version of their meet cute, she fell immediately for the Australian country singer. In 2017, she told Ellen DeGeneres, "I remember thinking I had such a crush on him and he wasn't interested in me." She later revealed it took Urban four months from their first meeting for him to finally call her. "I was really, really into him," she told Harper's Bazaar. "He took a little time. And he's like, 'That is so incorrect, Nicole.'"

Urban later explained that he definitely was interested in Kidman but admitted he wasn't in a healthy place when they were first introduced. "I'd never have thought she'd see anything in a guy like me," he said in 2018 in an Australian talk show interview (via The Sydney Morning Herald). "I kept looking at it thinking, 'If I call this number, she's going to answer. I don't know what [to] say'.'"

While Keith Urban's initial lack of interest was confusing to Nicole Kidman, she later acknowledged that "he was just sort of intimidated" by her at first (via Harper's Bazaar). ​​Urban admitted as such and referred to Kidman as someone "way out of my league" in an interview with an Australian media outlet (via The Sydney Morning Herald). He went on to say, "It's not an, 'oh shucks, oh me' story, it's legit – I mean, I'm a kid from Brissie, I went to Nashville ... somewhere along the line I end up meeting Nic."

However, the lack of confidence was mutual. At the gala they attended, per Harper's Bazaar, Kidman recalled being impressed by Urban's speech about his mother but thinking "he's not gonna be interested in me."

Eventually, these two crazy kids got it together, and Urban got the courage to call Kidman, and the rest, as they say, is history. "We started talking and we talked and talked and talked and talked and it was effortless," Urban said (via The Sydney Morning Herald).

Once Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban finally started dating, Kidman said she knew he was the "love of [her] life" when he stood outside her stoop in New York with gardenias at 5 a.m. before whisking her away on a road trip to Woodstock, New York (via People). "That is when I went, 'This is the man I hope I get to marry.'"

The two married a year later on June 25, 2006, at a romantic wedding in Manly, Australia, in front of hundreds of guests, including close Aussie friends, including Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Naomi Watts (via Biography).

According to People, the event was a family affair, with Kidman's father walking her down the aisle and sister Antonia serving as her maid of honor, along with her daughter, Isabella, who was a bridesmaid. On the groom's side, Urban's brother, Shane, was his best man. A guest told People the ceremony was "emotional and beautiful" and that Kidman and Urban sealed their matrimony with "a long, passionate kiss."

Afterward, the couple released a statement to their fans: "We just want to thank everyone in Australia and around the world who have sent us their warm wishes."

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban met and married all within one year. In fact, they married after only one month of officially dating. While getting married after dating for a month might seem strange to other couples, Kidman told Elle in 2014 her reason for marrying the singer is simple – she's "spontaneous" (via Entertainment Tonight). "I kind of like getting married and then getting to know each other," she said. "I know that it sounds incredibly strange, but to me, it's a more natural process."

Kidman's loneliness before her marriage might explain her frame of mind at the time, too. As she told Vanity Fair, after winning her Oscar in 2003, she realized she still didn't have a life. "It hit home that I needed to get a life. Who do I jump on the bed with, and celebrate with, and order pancakes with? That was painful, not having that person to share it with."

This might explain why — while admitting they didn't know each other very well before tying the knot — Kidman told Entertainment Tonight that, unlike most couples, "We navigated things but I wanted that and I wanted a partner."

It wasn't the typical honeymoon period for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban after their nuptials. Urban, who had dealt with drug and alcohol abuse in his past, began going down a dark path again, when Kidman staged an intervention in 2006, just a few months after their wedding. Urban admitted to Rolling Stone in 2016 that his addictions "caused the implosion of my fresh marriage. It survived, but it's a miracle it did." He later said in 2018 that getting clean was something that he "should have dealt with many, many years before I met Nic,” but that it never took because he wasn't ready.

While the intervention was no doubt a strain on their young marriage, there was an upside — the two were bonded like never before. "I was spiritually awoken with her," Urban told Rolling Stone. "I use the expression 'I was born into her,' and that's how I feel. And for the first time in my life, I could shake off the shackles of addiction."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Becoming parents was something on Nicole Kidman's mind as soon as she met Keith Urban. "I wanted to have a baby the minute we met and he was like, 'No,'" she told Entertainment Tonight. "And I got lucky. I got to have a child when I was 41." The couple's first child, Sunday Rose, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2008. According to People, their firstborn was named after Australian art patron and muse Sunday Reed and Urban's grandmother, Rose.

Then, two years later, Kidman and Urban welcomed their second daughter, Faith Margaret, via surrogate. "Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret," the couple announced in a 2011 statement, via People. Kidman told Australia's "60 Minutes" in 2011 (via People) that the couple had gone through a "rollercoaster ride with fertility." "We were in a place of desperately wanting another child" she said. "I couldn't get pregnant."

Reflecting on her struggles with infertility, Kidman said in an interview with Vogue how she wished she and Urban had met sooner so they could have had a larger family together. "I mean, if I could have had two more children with him, that would have been just glorious," she said.

It's clear that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were destined to become terrific parents together. While the couple is notoriously private about their daughters, they have shared their love of parenting. Urban shared how his favorite part about being a dad is having someone call him 'dad.' "I'm like, 'Omigosh! I'm her dad! That's amazing.' That's probably [the] ... first thing for me," the singer told his record label (via WBWN). On fatherhood, he said later, "I realize that it's not something that can be explained until you actually sort of have it, so I'm glad I got to experience that." Kidman agreed, telling InStyle how close they are as a family. "We put the time in, and there's no taking that for granted."

Despite their busy schedules, Kidman shared with The New York Times that she and Urban always ensure one of them is home with the girls if the other is away for work (via Hello!). "We never leave the kids, one of us is always there," she said.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have had their fair share of challenges, both together and apart, and so they understand what makes a marriage work. Kidman shared that the couple completely switches off from work and connect when they have downtime together. "Keith and I are very good at immediately clicking off because we have a really good life in Nashville that's very simple, quiet and nourishing because we've made it like that, ” she told Harper's Bazaar. That includes having strict boundaries at home that allow for connection, including not having a TV or computer in their bedroom. 

Another secret? Kidman says she and Urban are "old school," revealing they don't text each other when they're apart — instead, they call each other (via Southern Living).

Being with Urban is important to Kidman. As she shared with InStyle, rather than having girls' weekends, she wants to be home. "I want to be with my children and my husband [Keith Urban]," she said. Ultimately, as Urban has said: "We just work at it. We love each other and we work at it. It's beautiful work."

It's not only the everyday work on Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's marriage that keeps it strong. It's also being each other's rock during the ups and downs of life. Since his 2006 intervention, Kidman has been Urban's support in his sobriety. She told People, "It's not easy, but there's an extraordinary life if you do get there through help."

Urban has also returned the kindness and love for his partner when Kidman was left mourning the death of her father in 2014. She told Ellen DeGeneres the singer "literally" and "physically" carried her at times because she was so distraught. "I recently lost my father and to have my husband just step up that way makes me cry," she said (via USA Today).

Urban was also on hand to support his wife after she doubted her ability to take on her role as Lucille Ball in "Being the Ricardos." Kidman shared with Extra that Urban was encouraging her the entire time, saying, "'I believe you can do it, go for it. What do we need to do to support you?'" Urban, for his part, has said that Kidman's devotion "just makes me want to be a better man" (via People).

But not everything is work when it comes to Nicole Kidman's relationship with Keith Urban. The star couple definitely knows how to keep the spark alive. Kidman gushed to InStyle how the singer leaves her a love letter for every single night he's away and has done so throughout their relationship (via E! News).

The couple also doesn't hold back on their insane chemistry together. Kidman shared a very sexy pic of the pair in honor of their 15th wedding anniversary. The photo was taken in 2017, and, as Kidman explained to Harper's Bazaar, she had asked him to "'kiss my neck' and he did that."

Then, of course, there's Urban's song "Gemini" that's been confirmed to be about Kidman. You can feel the couple's chemistry with the lyrics, "She's a maniac in the bed, But a brainiac in her head" (per Vogue).

What helps keep the couple feel connected is something a priest told them early on in their marriage: "'Always kiss hello and kiss goodbye,'" Kidman told InStyle. "It just keeps you connected."