Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban might have ended their 19-year marriage, yet there was a time when the Hollywood actress found it hard to picture herself with anyone else.

At the turn of this decade, the Aussie actress, 58, did nothing but gush over her soon-to-be ex-husband, saying he made her feel ‘protected’. 

In past interviews that have resurfaced, Kidman, who married the country singer, 57, expressed how being with him brought her a sense of comfort following her separation from Tom Cruise in the early 2000s.

Kidman and Cruise, 63, were married for 11 years from 1990 to 2001, adopting two children together—Isabella, 32, and Connor, 30. 

Just four years after her split, in 2005, she encountered Urban at a G’Day LA event, and they married the subsequent year. They now have two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14.

During a 2020 interview with Marie Claire magazine, Kidman candidly reflected on the early days of her relationship with Urban in the wake of her split from Cruise.

‘[Keith] just came along, and protected me. He’s loved me, given me confidence, and made me so much more comfortable,’ she told the publication. 

‘He knows who I am and he’s opened me up,’ she said, adding that she identifies as an introvert, while Keith is an extrovert.

The following year, Kidman spoke again about how ‘open’ her heart was for Urban during an interview with Bazaar.

It came during a question about how she navigates public interest in her romantic relationships.  

‘I’m wary at times, and I’ve been hurt, but at the same time I much prefer a warm approach rather than a prickly shutdown approach,’ she said.

‘My husband, Keith, says that when he met me, he said, “How’s your heart?” And I apparently responded, “Open.”‘

In the same interview, Kidman also revealed she didn’t believe Urban was interested in her when they first met. 

She recalled watching him give a speech in honour of his mother during the G’Day LA event they met at. 

Her younger sister, Antonia, leaned over to Kidman and whispered: ‘Well, it doesn’t get much better than that.’

‘Yeah, but he’s not gonna be interested in me,’ Kidman said she responded.  

‘And he actually wasn’t that interested in me at the time—which he now says is not true; he was just sort of intimidated,’ she went on to recount.

‘Yeah. I was really, really into him. He took a little time. And he’s like, “That is so incorrect, Nicole.”‘

It comes after reports emerged Kidman will become the primary residential parent of her daughters, Sunday and Faith, amid her divorce from Urban.

Court documents obtained by Daily Mail show the actress and the country singer have agreed to an unusual parenting plan in which Kidman gets 306 days with their children, while Urban receives just 59.

Urban will have the kids from 10am on Saturdays to 6pm on Sundays every other weekend, while Kidman will care for them the rest of the time.

The estranged couple have also divvied up the special occasions they will each spend with their daughters: Kidman will have them on Mother’s Day and Easter, while Urban will get them on Father’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Elsewhere, the document specifies Kidman and Urban will make major decisions regarding their daughters together, including educational and extracurricular activities.

Neither party will receive monthly child support as Urban has ‘already prepaid all child support obligations’.

Despite the divorce, both stars will still ‘provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the children.’

Kidman and Urban also must not ‘speak badly of each other’ or about other family members.

The former couple will ‘encourage’ their children to ‘love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.’

The stars are also required to take a ‘mandated parenting seminar’ within 60 days of the divorce filing.

The notarised parenting plan was signed by the Oscar winner on September 6, while her estranged husband signed on August 29, a few days earlier.

The former couple have waived both child and spousal support, and agreed to split court costs evenly.

Kidman filed for divorce from Urban on Tuesday after 19 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

The exes have been kept apart of late amid their hectic filming and touring schedules, with an insider previously telling Daily Mail that Kidman was left ‘blindsided’ by the split.

A source also told Daily Mail there is speculation Urban has already moved on with a younger woman in the music industry.

The well-placed Nashville music business PR source said: ‘The rumour is that he’s with a younger woman in the business. It’s all everyone is talking about. Everyone wants to know who, but so far, that’s a mystery.’

Daily Mail has contacted representatives of Kidman and Urban for comment and has yet to hear back.