Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban Divorce: Why Babygirl Star Is Moving Cautiously After 19-Year Marriage

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have separated after 19 years of marriage, with the Babygirl star understood to be cautiously entering the single life while friends quietly encourage her to consider a new romance. The pair, who met in 2005 and married in 2006, reportedly split in September 2025, when Kidman filed for divorce following nearly two decades as one of Hollywood's most scrutinised couples.

Kidman's personal life has rarely been separate from her public career. Long before Big Little Lies and Aquaman, her relationships unfolded in full view, from early Australian romances to her highly public marriage to Tom Cruise. Each phase has been intensely documented, and that history now hangs over every suggestion that she might date again after Urban.

Kidman's first serious relationship, by her ex's own account, began on home soil. She met fellow Australian actor Tom Burlinson while filming the 1986 rom-com Windrider, and the pair dated for three years. In a 2020 interview, Burlinson described it as Kidman's 'first relationship with a man as an adult,' insisting some long-circulated rumours about a rejected proposal were simply wrong. 'We had happy times, but she had her own path to take in life,' he said.

She later moved on with Australian actor Marcus Graham in the late 1980s. Their relationship, by his telling, was intense and short-lived. He has recalled being 'devastated and heartbroken' when she left him after falling for Cruise during the filming of Days of Thunder. Graham, reflecting years later, framed it less as betrayal than as part of the ruthless logic of ambition and timing in young love, saying he had 'lots to learn about the world.'

Before Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman Faced Public Heartbreaks

Kidman and Urban's eventual divorce is only the latest rupture in a romantic history that has often been played out on red carpets and magazine covers. Her marriage to Cruise, in particular, set the template for how closely her private life would be followed.

Kidman and Cruise married on Christmas Eve 1990 and later adopted two children, Isabella in 1992 and Connor in 1995. In a 2002 Vanity Fair interview, Kidman described being 'swept off my feet' and 'consumed' by that relationship, saying she 'fell madly, passionately in love' and was desperate to start a family. Their partnership spanned three films, including Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut, before Cruise filed for divorce in February 2001, citing irreconcilable differences.

In 2003, she was linked to rapper Q-Tip after being spotted with him several times, though whatever was happening faded quickly and quietly. Around the same period, she began seeing Lenny Kravitz. They dated from 2003 to 2004, but it was not until 2017, during the Big Little Lies press tour, that she confirmed they had secretly been engaged. Kidman mentioned she already knew Zoë Kravitz 'because I was engaged to her father,' adding, 'I love Lenny; he's a great guy.'

Then came Urban. They met at the G'Day USA Gala in 2005, began dating shortly afterwards and married in 2006. In a 2022 CBS Mornings interview, Kidman called Urban 'the best thing that's ever happened to me,' saying the pair were 'very suited' and that she felt 'incredibly lucky' to have met him. They welcomed daughters Sunday Rose in 2008 and Faith Margaret in 2011, projecting an image of steady, if carefully curated, family life.

After nearly 19 years of marriage, Kidman filed for divorce. Speaking to Variety, she sounded determined but restrained: 'I'm always going to be moving toward what's good. What I'm grateful for is my family and keeping them as is and moving forward. That's that.'

After Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman Weighs New Suitors

Into that space stepped quiet speculation about who might next appear in Kidman's life. One name keeps surfacing in whispers: Paul Salem, chairman of the board of MGM Resorts International. According to OK!, Salem has been trying to pursue Kidman, though others close to the actress push back on the idea that anything is actually happening.

One insider told RadarOnline.com that Kidman and Salem have not even been on a date. 'Nicole knows that Paul has made no secret of the fact that he admires her, and she's flattered in a general sense, but there is no romantic relationship there,' the source said. Another added that she is 'single' and redirecting her focus to her daughters and a packed professional schedule.

Friends, however, are said to be gently nudging her towards the possibility of something new, and specifically towards men outside the entertainment world. People close to Kidman see someone like Salem as 'a refreshing alternative to the kind of relationships she's had in the past,' pointing to a different kind of stability that a non-actor partner might bring.

Reese Witherspoon, described as one of the most vocal in Kidman's circle on the subject, has reportedly been urging her to 'keep an open mind.' Drawing on her own experience of building a relationship beyond Hollywood's core, Witherspoon has, according to the tipster, been emphasising that 'a strong, fulfilling relationship doesn't have to be built on shared careers.'

Kidman is moving 'deliberately' and 'slowing things down,' wary of trying to fill a void after almost two decades with Urban. One insider described her current mindset as a period of 'recalibration,' in which she is working out what matters to her in a relationship, what her boundaries are and how fame inevitably distorts the normal rhythms of dating.

Nothing about a future partner is confirmed, and all talk of Kidman and Salem remains speculative. For now, she seems intent on doing something she has rarely been allowed to do in public life: pause.