Keith Urban Reveals Nicole Kidman Helped Him Power Through Addiction, Rehab Shortly After Wedding

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman attended the 49th AFI Life Achievement Gala, held on April 27. The event carried a keynote tribute to the actress, which saw Urban, take the stage to detail the ways his life changed since he met his wife. The speech also carried details of Kidman standing by the country singer, as he battled his addictions in rehab.

Keith Urban revisits his addiction episode

In his tribute for wife Nicole, Keith chose to speak about his past struggles with addiction. The country singer noted how back when had married Nicole, he had made no effort to get rid of any of his demons. However, unsurprisingly, the same soon started tearing into his very new marriage. He said, "I do want to take an opportunity to talk about Nic's heart and her spirit. We got married in June, 2006 and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens."

Urban spent just a month with Kidman before he went off to rehab for three months, sorely worried about what the distance and circumstances would do to them. Nicole however, stood by her husband like a rock. He went on, "Four months into a marriage I’m in rehab for three months. I had no idea what was going to happen to us. Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own. And she chose love. And here we are tonight, 18 years later."

Keith Urban believes Nicole Kidman is a 'real-life princess'

Keith's tribute also featured the lighter side of their love, as he recalled how nervous he was at the time of approaching the actress for her number. He said, "I was trying to play it cool, but inside I felt like I'd snuck into the royal ball simply because Nic had such a truly otherworldly aura about her...I felt a bit like I was meeting a real-life princess."

All it took was one phone conversation to ascertain that behind that "otherworldly aura" was just a simple Australian girl. He added, "This mystic creature (turned out to be) just a wide-eyed, giddy girl from the Sydney suburbs...utterly Aussie through and through." Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman tied the knot on June 25, 2006. They are parents to four children - Isabella, Connor, Sunday and Faith.