Keith Urban has given one of his most personal TV interviews to date, giving a rare and intimate glimpse at his marriage to Nicole Kidman and revealing the huge role she played in him overcoming his addiction.
Opening up on his relationship from the very start, the musician, 50, also joked he thanks his wife ânightlyâ for inspiring him to write about their sex life in a racy new song.
Appearing on Channel 7âs Interview with Andrew Denton, Keith took viewers right back to the start and recalled the first night he ever met Nicole at the GâDay LA: Australia Week event in Los Angeles in 2005. He had planned to meet Mel Gibson there, but admitted while he didnât get the chance, he did go on to âmarry Nicâ.
As Andrew held up their first photo together, he joked Nicole appeared to have âfoxy eyesâ towards Keith, to which the singer said: âSheâs very foxyâ.
While Nicole has since admitted she liked Keith instantly, he didnât contact her for four months, and asked why he waited, he said: âI thought she was way out of my league. Iâm a kid from Brissy, went to Nashville (which is what I always wanted to do), then somewhere along the line I meet Nic.
We showed @keithurban a photo from the first night he met his wife Nicole Kidman. Check our that "come hither" cleavage! #InterviewAU pic.twitter.com/SMJWhVfVd5
â Andrew Denton's "Interview" (@InterviewAU) July 31, 2018
âI might have a vivid imagination of possibilities in life, obviously, but not in a million years did I think someone like that would be interested in me! Even when I met her there was a sort of aura about her, she was existing in a place that seemed so out of reach.â
Keith admitted it was a âconspiracy of angelsâ that eventually got him in touch with her, with mutual friends continuously urging them to get together.
âI needed encouragement for my confidence not for anything else,â he added. âI had her number for a while, I kept thinking âif I call this number sheâs going to answer, I donât know what Iâm going to sayâ! It seems so crazy now.
âI wasnât in a very healthy place in my life and I never thought sheâd be interested in a guy like me.â
He eventually plucked up the courage to call, and said they talked for ages â describing it as âeffortlessâ.
Asked if itâs true he used to leave Nicole a letter for every day he was away on tour, Keith confirmed it and added: âI do all kinds of things now⌠Itâs very personal stuff Andrew!â
He went on: âIâve learnt a lot from Nic about intimacy, thatâs the one big thing I was lacking in my life before I met her.â
"Having been clean for 12 years how much has Nicoleâs strength helped you to be strong?" â @keithurban #InterviewAU pic.twitter.com/CMxnrsUyCN
â Andrew Denton's "Interview" (@InterviewAU) July 31, 2018
The coupleâs daughter Sunday recently turned 10-years-old, and pointing out Keith came from a difficult background himself, Andrew asked if he finds it hard not to spoil his daughter.
âActually I find it not hard,â Keith said, âI love her. Itâs always a balancing act of not depriving someone of something but also knowing that they donât need this⌠Just because I didnât have that growing up doesnât mean that she shouldnât have it.â
Keith admitted he worries his kids may have a strange relationship with music because âitâs what takes daddy awayâ, but insisted they love to sing all the same.
Keith said he was âterribleâ at relationships before he met Nicole, due mainly to his personal issues previously.
âI had all kinds of issues, addiction obviously, that makes life hard. That was a real roller coaster part of my life for about a decade really,â he said.
Not long after their marriage, Keith booked himself into rehab and explained: âMy wife put an intervention together and it was divine, it was a divine intervention. It was love in action and the timing was absolutely divine.â
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk8YmOKlIDW/?hl=en&taken-by=nicolekidman
As Andrew pointed out that his life appeared perfect from the outside, with a hugely successful career and loving marriage, Keith insisted his own demons had nothing to do with that and added: âIt was something I should have dealt with many many years before I met Nic⌠I wasnât ready. People tried, it wasnât through lack of people wanting to help me, I just wasnât ready.â
Keith has now been clean for 12 years and he credited Nicoleâs âunquantifiable strengthâ for keeping him strong throughout.
A few of Keithâs songs on his new album Graffiti are dedicated to Nicole, one of which â âGeminiâ â famously includes the lyrics: âSheâs a maniac in the bed, but a brainiac in her head.â
Asked by Andrew if she thanked him for that, Keith joked: âI thank her nightly!â
Read more:Â Keith Urbanâs latest single details spicy sex life with wife Nicole
He explained one of his co-writers actually came up with the line when he was talking about Nicole in the recording studio.
âI was obviously feeling in a very intimate environment writing with them and riffing about Nic, and Julia suggested that line. I said, âI donât know if Iâd say thatâ, and she goes âyou basically just didâ!â Keith added.
Some of the lyrics on his new album reference wife Nicole Kidman, such as "you're a maniac in bed / you're a brainiac in your head". How'd that one go down with Nic @keithurban? #InterviewAU pic.twitter.com/fHIDX19aF1
â Andrew Denton's "Interview" (@InterviewAU) July 31, 2018
A cheeky Andrew responded: âYou do realise now that every man that listens to that line fantasises about your wifeâs IQ?â Luckily it got a laugh from Keith.
Elsewhere in the tell-all chat. Keith recalled touring with Slim Dusty and said it was a learning curve throughout. He revealed Slim always advised him to be himself on stage, because his audience would never love him if he wasnât.
Meanwhile, in a surprising admission, Keith insisted he doesnât like a lot of attention on just him â instead preferring to engage with a vibrant and lively crowd.
âI never felt like I was chasing a dream I felt like I was following a destiny,â the Aussie singer concluded in his chat.
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