Keith Urban Talks About Stardom And His Fairy-Tale Life With Nicole Kidman: ‘I Didn’t Just Walk Into This Gig’

Keith Urban, despite current appearances, came up really hard. Now, his perfect lifestyle with his wife, Nicole Kidman, seems to deny that past. Keith and Nicole have multiple mansions in various countries and travel the world together. He goes on the set of her movies, and she often goes on tour with him. The kids also get to tag along, learning the ins and outs of stardom and fame from day one.

As Nicole Kidman, without so much as a hint of pretension, speaks about their house in Nashville, which is nothing short of a mansion, with beautiful grounds and lovely architecture, and then she just casually mentions their house in Australia to Vogue, one’s first thought would be a life of privilege. That is simply not the case, at least not for Keith.

Keith Urban was born in New Zealand, but his family moved to Australia fairly early in his childhood. At first, his parents ran a convenience store in Brisbane, but when he was 10, they moved to a farm an hour’s drive north from there. He recently told Rolling Stone about living in a metal tractor shed after the house burned down during his childhood years.

“I had to clean out the pigsties and shovel s**t out of the chicken coops. But even after our house burned down and we had to live in our tin tractor shed for 18 months, my older brother, Shane, and I sleeping in a single bed on one side of a big workbench, my parents on the other, and it looked like a squatter’s residence – all that, for me, is a great memory.”

Keith Urban’s physique does give clues of this. One might have guessed he was a hardworking farm boy from his build or perhaps a construction worker. Muscles like his don’t come from a gym. It is obvious from the way he moves, his overall coordination, and the way his biceps flex that this man has worked in his life and not just worked out. Keith may have enjoyed it, which makes him fit in great in Nashville, but overall, he’s paid his dues.

Urban confirmed this fact to Rolling Stone, saying, “No, man, I didn’t just walk into this gig.”

Nicole Kidman makes their life now sound like a fairy tale, and it truly seems that is the case. Keith Urban’s rags-to-riches story concludes with living in a veritable castle in Nashville, which, to Nicole, seems very down-to-earth compared to some of the places she’s been. The castle comes complete with two adorable little princesses: Sunday Rose, aka Sunny, now 7-years-old, and her little sister, Faith, who likes to be called Fifi. The girls have an idyllic life that combines country living at its best in Nashville, and a lot of exotic travel.

How did Keith Urban get out of that tractor shed, onto a stage, and into Nicole Kidman’s life? It all started with a little old ukulele he began playing around with at age 4. Picking up on little Keith’s obvious fascination with music, his parents managed to purchase a cheap guitar. From there, Keith had found his golden ticket. His talent for picking and singing quickly became obvious to everyone who heard him. After a fantastic performance in the title role of Oliver in his eighth-grade school play, Urban dropped out of school.

Keith Urban thus became a full-time musician at the tender age of 15 with his parent’s blessings. During his early tours, he played some of the roughest roadhouses in Australia. At 23, he won a TV contest called Star Maker that helped him land a recording contract with EMI. His fame rose fast from there.

Urban told Rolling Stone he was really excited about the merchandise in those days.

“Suddenly, I had bumper stickers with my name on them, T-shirts with my picture. I was selling merchandise. I toured with a road crew.”

Keith Urban decided to move to Nashville, where he immediately found himself out of his element. His hair was too long, his accent was odd, and people just could not wrap their minds around the idea that country stars could come from Australia.

“I felt like I was meant to be here, I had this absolute burning belief, but I was out of step with everything. I mean, what do you do when you’re doing your best and it’s not enough? I had no plan for that.”

Keith Urban could not find a decent gig and was soon broke. He lived in the roughest part of town Nashville had to offer with a crack addict for a roommate. It was then that Urban discovered drugs. He had always kept his nose clean before, never got in a bar fight, and never really drank much, despite his roadhouse history, until he hit rock bottom in Nashville. At least he thought that was rock bottom, but from there it just seemed to get worse and worse.

Keith Urban was drinking heavily and had a penchant for both cocaine and Ecstasy. His band’s album bombed, and he slid even further down. In 1998 though, record producer Matt Rollings saved Keith’s life, maybe even literally. Matt gave Urban his first solo album contract and helped him create his first real hits. From then on, his rise to fame became a lot easier. While he continued to battle with drug addiction for a while, he’s been clean since 2006.

Nicole Kidman put her dainty foot down. A few short months after their wedding, she staged an intervention that got Urban off drugs for good. He spent a hard three months in rehab, found a deep spiritual connection to God, and has been fine ever since.

“I caused the implosion of my fresh marriage. It survived, but it’s a miracle it did. I was spiritually awoken with her. I use the expression ‘I was born into her,’ and that’s how I feel. And for the first time in my life, I could shake off the shackles of addiction.”

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have a wonderful life and Keith is probably the first to recognize that because he has experienced some things that were not very great. He doesn’t tend to complain about his past, though, and he certainly doesn’t complain about the present. There are some nasty rumors going around on the internet about Nicole, but rumors are just rumors. Nicole and Keith seem to be one of those happily ever after couples.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman are a great couple with a happy life, and that is something Keith isn’t going to give up.

[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images]