They’ve always managed to juggle their demanding careers with home life, but after their toughest year yet, Keith Urban is begging his wife Nicole Kidman to take a much-needed break – and just be with her family at home.
“Keith and Nicole have had their worst year ever,” a pal tells Woman’s Day. “They’ve barely spent any time together and she’s been on her own throughout some of her most distressing times.”
Of course, losing her beloved mother Janelle in September has been the hardest hurdle for Nicole, 57, to overcome this year.
But at a time when she’s more in demand in Hollywood than ever, the actress and producer hasn’t had time to process her grief amid the relentless cycle of filming, promoting, red carpet premieres and award shows.
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THEY’RE ALL CONCERNED
And Nic’s absence from their Nashville home is growing more concerning for Keith by the day.
“The big worry on everyone’s minds is, how much more of this can she take?” the source says, adding that Keith is so serious about supporting Nicole, that he’ll even consider giving up touring once his Vegas residency is done.
“He owes everything, including his life, to Nicole, so quitting big live shows is an easy choice,” adds the source.
The country star has been holding down the fort at home with daughters Sunday, 16, and Faith, 13, taking his eldest teen and her friend to Billie Eilish’s gig in Nashville last week.
While Keith, 57, has been on dad duty, Nicole has been busy at work on her latest murder mystery, Scarpetta. Then it was off to New York for the sought-after actress, who glammed up for the premiere of the animated film, Spellbound. The next stop was LA for the Governors Awards, then she jetted over to London for the GQ Men of the Year awards!
It’s not lost on Nicole that she’s the hardest-working person in Hollywood right now. In a recent interview with Variety, she made a point of noting she’d had “nine hours of sleep” the night before as though it was abnormal, and admitted she’s thought about taking a break – but doesn’t feel she can.
“I’m thinking, ‘I can create jobs for people.’ Also, I love it. I have the passion. I’ve just got to take care of my body.”
She adds, “I wish I had superpowers because I would love to be everywhere.”
In a chat with GQ, Nicole also admitted that she’s been feeling the pressures and pitfalls of life more than ever lately.
“Mortality. Connection. Life coming and hitting you,” she says. “[The] loss of parents and raising children and marriage and all the things that go into making you a fully sentient human.
“I’m in all of those places… And it hits you as you get older how… it’s a wake-up-at-3am-crying-and-gasping kind of thing. If you’re in it and not numbing yourself to it.”
FINDING TIME FOR FAMILY
As for Nic and Keith’s famous rule of never going two weeks without seeing each other, the craziness of this year has certainly challenged that pact. Adding to the stress of distance, Keith has apparently struggled with his schedule being quieter than his Hollywood wife’s.
“One of [his] keys to staying clean and sober is staying extremely busy,” a Closer source says.
“He has been a lot less busy in the last 12 months than Nicole.”
