Just two months ago, Nicole Kidman, fresh from a separation, exuded a steely resolve when she told an interviewer, “I’m hanging in there.” The change in her demeanor is striking.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and the Oscar-winning actress seemed to exude a newfound radiance.

Returning to her home in Nashville after celebrating the holidays in Sydney, Australia, with her daughters, Sunday, 17, and Faith, 15, Kidman appeared to have turned back the clock.

Gone was the somber figure from October’s Paris Fashion Week, who donned a clipped fringe and a severe blow-dry. Instead, she was nearly unrecognizable, breezing through the airport with a carefree air, her natural strawberry blonde curls cascading freely.

A magazine columnist aptly noted, “Nicole Kidman seems more at ease with herself recently. Her curls are back, and she can’t stop smiling. Is it that signature Kidman charm, or is something else at play?”

Perhaps what was going on – and what the world would subsequently learn in a few days’ time – was that her divorce from second husband, Keith Urban, had been rubber stamped. That came through on Tuesday January 6 – 15 weeks after the split was confirmed.

Nicole Kidman cut a radiant and relaxed figure as she was spotted departing Sydney Airport with her two teenage daughters earlier this month

Kidman’s divorce from Urban came through on Tuesday January 6 – 15 weeks after the split was confirmed

It has been, I’m told, a quick, clean but yet ultimately painful path to freedom for Kidman since her 19-year marriage collapsed last year. Neither side is seeking spousal support: obviously, both are independently wealthy. He’s reportedly worth $75 million to her $250 million.

A custody schedule to assure Kidman, 58, had the lion’s share of access to their daughters was agreed even before the split was public knowledge (Urban signed it in August).

She gets 306 days a year with them and Christmas on odd years; he gets them for 59 days. There was no chance of any replay of the sad situation in which her adopted children Bella and Connor with first husband, Tom Cruise, drifted away from her to be raised by their father and their aunts in the Scientology religion she abandoned.

Yet, sources say those pictures of carefree solidarity with her girls at Sydney Airport speak more than a thousand carefully worded press statements.

One tells me: ‘I hear he [Urban] has someone, which is why the girls are publicly supporting Mom. People think they are even living together. Look, teen girls love their dads, so there’s a reason they’re making it three against one.

‘Since the split, you are seeing her and the girls all the time, on her social media and in other photos. They were with her in Paris and in Sydney. She posted pictures of them all taking part in a “turkey trot” running race on Thanksgiving which is really unusual, she’s generally more private than that.

‘Each time you see them they are linking arms or holding hands. It looks “us against the world”.’

The source adds: ‘I feel like with the pictures she is briefing against him, without briefing against him. It feels as if she is really mad at him and she is using the girls to show that he is in the doghouse.’

Her most recent post was of the three of them with their arms around each other’s waists, looking out at the fireworks over Sydney Harbour. She captioned it: ‘Looking forward into 2026 xxx.’ The unsaid message seems to be that they are facing the future as a trio.

The Oscar-winning actress, 58, rocked her naturally perm-like, frizzy red hair as she made her way through the busy terminal alongside daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15

Sources say those pictures of carefree solidarity with her girls at Sydney Airport speak more than a thousand carefully worded press statements

Pictured: Urban and Kidman with daughters Sunday, second left, Faith, third left

As for the financial side of things, the former couple are carving up their considerable global property empire by mutual agreement – without any need to tell the world exactly who gets what.

We do know that Nicole is staying in the magnificent former marital home in Nashville, Tennessee, the city which has been Keith’s adopted home for decades. The girls are well settled in school there and she has close friends in the area, including Reese Witherspoon.

I heard last year that she and Urban continued to share a hairdresser and still shop in the same branch of Whole Foods.

Later this year she will film a second series of Scarpetta, based on the Patricia Cornwell books, in Nashville: it’s been arranged so that she doesn’t have to leave home for any period of time.

Now local sources reveal that Urban has doubled down on his commitment to the city after buying and renovating a music studio in Nashville’s fabled Music Row, where Elvis recorded 240 songs, including (appropriately) Heartbreak Hotel.

For behind the scenes, sources say there is a lot of emotional trauma going on.

Firstly, I’m told Urban is working on a heartbreak album of his own at that studio, which sounds as if it might be an uncomfortable retelling of the unravelling of their love story.

Secondly, everyone is adamant that there is a new woman in his life and that the relationship is serious.

As to who this might be, speculation currently centers on beautiful, blonde country music star Karley Scott Collins. (Representatives for her and Urban did not respond to requests for comment.)

Recently, 26-year-old singer Karley Scott Collins (pictured) has been linked to Urban, though no relationship has been confirmed 

Both of them were on the C2C Music Tour of the UK and Europe last spring, before Urban and Kidman announced they were separating in September.

And Scott Collins was then invited to support him on his ‘High and Alive’ tour of the US which concluded soon after the announcement of the split. There is no suggestion they had an affair.

Kidman and Urban were married in June 2006 and were last seen together in June. Not long after, fans began to notice changes: Urban stopped his on-stage ‘baby girl’ tributes to his wife.

When news of the split first broke, sources close to Kidman spoke of her shock and how she felt ‘betrayed’. The insider also claimed that Nicole ‘didn’t want this and has been fighting to save the marriage’ which had collapsed against her wishes.

For a period, Keith lay low. But in November he was at the Country Music Awards – minus his wedding ring. It was barely reported but Scott Collins was also there, presenting some coverage from the red carpet.

A rising star on the Nashville music scene, Scott Collins, who at 25, is 35 years Urban’s junior, has toured with a number of country stars including Willie Nelson.

Last year, after it was announced that she would be Urban’s supporting act on tour, she said: ‘It’s amazing being on the road with Keith. He’s an incredible entertainer, and I respect him so much… and I’ve learned a lot watching him.’

A photo posted on Instagram on July 16 showed them with their arms around each other, heads resting on each other’s shoulders. ‘Somebody pinch me’ wrote Scott Collins. ‘I feel like I’m dreamin.’

Of course it must be intoxicating to be asked to tour with one of your musical heroes, but the timing came across as a little insensitive. And it can be revealed that their musical association continues: she and Urban are both performing at the Lakefront Music Festival in Minnesota on Saturday, July 11th.

It is one of only a handful of events which Urban has confirmed for this year.

When Urban was last seen in public at his final gig in October he looked uneasy. Talk of his bond with singer Maggie Baugh, whom he’d serenaded on stage in August, had left him rattled. His people said nothing, but Baugh’s friends quickly pointed out that she had a boyfriend with whom she was very happy.

Fans previously questioned if Urban had moved on with 25-year-old guitarist Maggie Baugh (pictured) 

Urban, 55, pictured returning home to Sydney, Australia, in December  

However in December he gave an interview to a local outlet about the reopening of his new music studio and appeared very much the old Keith – albeit minus his wedding ring.

In an interview with a local outlet, The Tennessean, last year, he said: ‘I’ve been writing quite a bit. I’ve been recording quite a bit. I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio. That’s what I do. I don’t have hobbies. I love music. That’s what I do.’

He’s also dipped a cowboy boot into the world of reality TV, as a judge on the CBS series, The Road, in which emerging musicians compete to win a slot at legendary live music venue The Pinnacle in Nashville and a $250,000 prize.

But Urban’s plans are all about a return to music. His team have put in dates in California and Arizona in March, Florida in May, and then the Lakeside Music festival – where he will appear with Scott Collins – in July.

To fans, this comes as a huge relief. In October, everyone was worried about how the divorce would affect his health, and ‘the direction he was heading in’.

He is a recovering drug addict, having been to rehab three times – in 1998, 2000 and soon after he married Kidman in 2006.

But that’s not the Urban people are seeing today.

And as Kidman puts up her defenses and embarks on single life with her girls, it will be fascinating to see what he does – and puts to music – next.