Signs of strain in the marriage between Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman were apparent as early back as July.

At that moment, Urban’s response to a suggestive question from a radio show highlighted his heightened emotional state, coinciding with the news on Monday about the celebrity couple’s decision to separate after 19 years of marriage.

On July 1, Urban called into the Mix102.3 Adelaide radio show Hayley & Max in the Morning to promote a string of performances he had scheduled for the upcoming months.

The interview began innocuously enough, as Urban said that he always enjoyed playing in Adelaide, where the station is located.

But it got uncomfortable when the Grammy-winning vocalist, 57, was inserted into a radio game titled Wall of Truth.

Daily Mail has reached out to Mix102.3 Adelaide for further comment on the story. 

The host quizzed Urban about Kidman, 58, appearing in ‘love scenes,’which led him to abruptly exit the Zoom chat the interview was being held on.

Signs of tension in the marriage between Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman were apparent as early back as July; Pictured in NYC in 2023 

During the show, one of the hosts brought up actor Zac Efron, 37, who was featured in a personal scene alongside Kidman in the 2024 Netflix film A Family Affair.

‘What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron, having these beautiful love scenes?’ host Max Burford asked Urban.

Urban did not reply to the inquiry, as one of the host said that the singer had ‘disconnected from Zoom’ amid apparent ire over the line of questioning.

A program producer chimed in: ‘I think his team hung up on us because they didn’t want us to ask that question.’

Burford asked of the country singer, ‘Does Keith Urban hate us? Do we have beef with Keith Urban?’

The show’s Hayley Pearson said, ‘He hates us – I knew that was going to happen.’ 

Pearson said that she thought the line of questioning might have been too direct.

‘I’ve had this feeling … that they don’t like these personal questions at all.’

Urban dropped off a Zoom in which he was asked about Nicole Kidman’s love scenes with costars such as Zac Efron; Kidman and Efron seen in a still 

Kidman and Efron pictured at the world premiere after party for Netflix’s ‘A Family Affair’ at Sunset Tower Hotel Hollywood in 2024 

The actress also starred as a business executive who started a risky affair with her much-younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson, in erotic thriller Babygirl last year; Seen in a still

She added of Urban: ‘He doesn’t like the personal stuff … he doesn’t like talking about his wife … it’s private.”

An insider later told People that Urban had nothing to do with the disconnection, as he is not on the technical side of things.

‘Keith did not hang up, period,’ the source said. 

‘He doesn’t host his Zoom interviews. This is a complete nothingburger.’

The Australian actress and Urban were last seen together publicly in June this year, when they were pictured attending a FIFA World Cup match in Nashville, Tennessee.

The country star has been away for much of the year on his High and Alive World Tour. 

He is due to perform in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday.

Kidman and the children, meanwhile, have remained in Nashville, where the couple own a $4million compound.

TMZ reported Monday that ‘Keith has acquired his own residence in Nashville and has moved out of their family home.’

The chat was of renewed interest amid news the celebrity couple are separating after 19 years of marriage

Over the summer, the actress and their kids stayed in England while she filmed the sequel to her 1998 movie Practical Magic. She was paying a reported £65,000 ($87,000) each month to rent a luxurious Hampstead mansion once owned by pop star Boy George.

While the London move was for work, it certainly raised eyebrows back in Kidman’s native Australia.

‘[Kidman and Urban] do make an effort to speak every day when they’re apart, but it is shocking how much time they’ve spent apart since Nicole’s mother died last September,’ an insider told local magazine Woman’s Day earlier this month. ‘It’s like they both went their separate ways.’

Urban and Kidman are parents to daughters Sunday, 16, and Faith, 14.