Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Face Divorce Rumors Amid Claims of a ‘Midlife Crisis’ for the Singer

Nicole Kidman has been racking up the kind of post-divorce triumphs that make a traditional revenge dress seem almost understated.

It is easy to forget that the 59-year-old actress only finalized her reportedly acrimonious split from country music star Keith Urban in January.

Urban was reportedly the one who initiated the separation, announced on September 29 last year after almost two decades of marriage. At the time, sources close to the Australian actress said Kidman had been completely “blindsided.”

Since then, however, the former couple’s public fortunes appear to have dramatically changed. While 58-year-old Urban has been touring internationally with little attention or critical acclaim, Kidman has maintained a high-profile presence—and looked increasingly confident along the way.

Only days after news of the divorce broke, Kidman attended Paris Fashion Week as a guest of honor. Under the settlement, she retained the couple’s Nashville mansion and won the larger share of custody of their two teenage daughters.

At the Chanel show, she was photographed alongside Sunday Rose, now 18, and Faith Margaret, 15. Her sharply styled white shirt and jeans projected a clear message: I mean business.

A lively European summer followed for Kidman, including nights dancing at Ibiza raves. She told British Vogue that she would have dinner at 10.30pm before heading to a club at 1am, disguising herself with glasses and a short dark wig to avoid being recognized.

She also appeared alongside rhinestone-covered drag queens in a Troye Sivan music video and was photographed getting close to rumored new love interest Michael Reinstein, a private equity businessman, beside the pool at one of Portofino’s most exclusive hotels.

Then came Practical Magic 2, the sequel to the 1998 cult supernatural comedy, co-starring Sandra Bullock. Released earlier this month, the film exceeded the original movie’s entire US box office total within two weeks, giving Kidman and Bullock plenty of opportunities for a playful promotional run.

During a joint interview on influencer Jake Shane’s podcast on September 10, Shane read a letter from an anonymous listener who said she disliked her boyfriend’s music and wanted advice on what to do.

Bullock appeared delighted to set up the obvious joke.

“This is a tricky one… Nicole?” she teased, sending Kidman and Shane into laughter.

Kidman, to her credit, kept her response diplomatic and avoided making any further pointed reference to her musician ex-husband.

“Find something you like in it [the music]. Give him a compliment. Something! Give him a bone,” she advised.

Perhaps Kidman has no interest in publicly trying to outshine Urban because, by all appearances, she does not need to.

“Nicole has certainly come out of the divorce smelling like a rose. Her life looks like a fairytale; she has it all. She’s not just beautiful but wicked smart, so no one should be surprised that she handled the divorce so well. She is extremely savvy,” one source said.

Kidman’s appearance at this month’s Emmy Awards in Los Angeles was her first attendance at the ceremony in nine years.

Wearing Chanel once again, she prompted one observer to remark that she appeared to be “aging in reverse.”

Inside LA’s Peacock Theater, Kidman – sat in the audience – even managed to unintentionally to become the focus of the opening monologue, with host Mariska Hargitay recreating Kidman’s famous AMC advert, in which the actress memorably says: ‘Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.’

Indeed, it seems everyone who’s anyone wants to be associated with Kidman.

Fast-rising Slovak pop star Adela has even released a new single titled ‘Nicole Kidman’ – it’s gone instantly viral and is currently No 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In August, singer Charli XCX described Kidman as ‘one of our last truly legendary movie stars.’

‘She came to my show in New York when I was on the Brat tour,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t believe she came. Like, the Nicole Kidman is at my show… what the f***?’

So, what’s the recipe to behind this public relations masterclass?

One insider said: ‘Nicole has played the post-divorce game very well by focusing on her family first, establishing herself as a solid single mom. And she is a great mom.’

The insider added that the girls ‘worship her and would do anything she asked’, claiming they are now ‘much closer to their mom than their dad’ – something Urban has reportedly found crushing.

It is a very different position to the one Kidman found herself in after her 2001 divorce from Tom Cruise, when their adopted children Isabella and Connor (now 33 and 31) chose to live primarily with their father – something insiders say remains a source of deep sadness for Kidman.

This time round, the settlement with Urban gives the actress 306 days a year with Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, leaving their father just 59 days – or every other weekend.

In March, a source told the Daily Mail that Urban was feeling lost without his family.

Soon after their split, and before the divorce was finalized, Kidman took the girls to her native Australia for Christmas last year – leaving Urban behind in the States.

Then, in a cover interview for Elle Australia, aspiring model Sunday Rose credited mom Kidman as her ‘biggest inspiration in life’, failing to mention her father.

‘It’s like he doesn’t exist,’ an insider close to Urban complained to Australian magazine New Idea. ‘Keith doesn’t know what to say, but he’s trying to put on a brave front.’

Sources speaking to the Daily Mail at the time strongly rejected any notion that Kidman had turned her daughters against their father.

Instead, they argued that the girls are old enough to see the situation with their own eyes. Their father’s behavior since the divorce, the sources added, had been noted.

‘The girls are definitely Team Nicole – they’re in her corner, they’re hurt and angry on her behalf,’ a source said.

Urban has been linked to several younger women in the country music scene, including 26-year-old singer Karley Scott Collins, who has toured with him – though she has denied any romantic relationship.

‘Keith, surprisingly, has been the more emotional one post-divorce. I don’t think he ever thought he’d find himself divorced at 58. It’s kind of like he’s having a midlife crisis,’ another insider now says. ‘He’s Keith Urban. Girls are literally still throwing themselves at him, yet now he’s single.’

Another more sympathetic source, however, insisted Urban is hardly sitting at home strumming sad country chords into the void.

‘Keith is not suffering, let’s put it that way,’ the source said. ‘He’s had a successful tour thus far and is enjoying being back on the road. Don’t be surprised if he comes out with some sort of breakup ballad.’

Meanwhile, refusing to be drawn on reports of new love for Kidman with businessman Michael Reinstein, another insider said: ‘She’s certainly enjoying this time of discovery and what ‘single’ life looks like in this day and age. She’s been traveling, spending time with family, but now she’s back to work and full throttle, taking project after project. She might even be doing too much and overextending herself.

‘That was one of the problems why her relationship [with Urban] wasn’t sustainable – they both were spending time on the road and it wasn’t healthy for their marriage. They spent a lot of time apart.’

Representatives for Kidman and Urban have been contacted for comment.