In the United States, the rich and famous can rarely keep their secrets under wraps for long thanks to press freedom laws that generally favour reporters over celebrities.
Court documents are largely public record too – but more than that, in my experience, A-list hangers-on usually can’t wait to spill the tea when something big goes down.
I should know – for seven years, I worked across America as an investigative reporter with a focus on Australian stars making their fortunes stateside.
So it was with some surprise that I learned on Tuesday that not only were Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban divorcing after a 19-year, PDA-filled marriage – but they had also managed to keep this seismic news under wraps for several weeks.
According to court docs – passed on to me by a trusted source in Music City on Wednesday – the couple had initiated proceedings more than a month ago, with Keith signing off on a permanent parenting planning order on August 28.
If this dissolution of Australia’s most famous couple had happened in New York or California, the news would have been made public before the ink on Keith’s signature was dry.
But in Nashville, Tennessee – a place I visited frequently while chasing stories, including ones about Nicole and Keith – things are done differently.
And that is precisely why so many famous people call it home.
Nicole and Keith were known for their PDA-packed red carpet appearances
The former couple, who are in the process of divorcing, are pictured at the Country Music Association Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 8, 2023
Nicole is pictured with her sister Antonia Kidman in Nashville on Wednesday. Paparazzi catching celebs in the wild is rare in Tennessee, which is known for its fairly strict privacy laws
Aside from its rolling green hills, heaving honky-tonks and unforgettable barbecue, Tennessee has the added financial benefit of not imposing a state income tax – an enticing prospect for famous families banking millions every year.
It also has strict privacy laws, making it appealing to celebrities who know that even the most tenacious of Hollywood paparazzi tend to avoid snapping photos there.
Besides Nicole and Keith, there is a galaxy of stars who call Tennessee home, including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and his wife Jessica Biel, the Cyrus family, and pop-star-turned-talk-show-host Kelly Clarkson.
And the locals are extremely proud – and protective – of their recognisable residents. I remember asking a barista at Nicole and Keith’s local Starbucks what their regular coffee order was (yes, investigative work covers all angles).
He got mightily offended and defensive for a man likely earning the state’s USD$7.25 minimum wage plus tips – bearing in mind the couple I was asking about had a combined net worth of AU$750 million.
That was just one example of how ordinary folk in Music City like to shield local stars from the prying eyes of Hollywood reporters.
I thought of that barista this week when so many in Hollywood revealed how shocked they were that Nicole and Keith’s separation had taken so long to make it to TMZ.
For those in the know in Nashville – including the famous residents – it wasn’t shocking at all. Why? Simply put, they keep their business to themselves.
Nicole filed for divorce at Davidson County Court, Tennessee (pictured). The exes initiated proceedings more than a month ago – had they done so in New York or California, we likely would have heard news of their split much sooner
The couple – seen here at a Nashville Predators hockey match – threw themselves into local life
Keith is pictured at a Tennessee Titans NFL match at Nissan Stadium in 2018
Of course, what Nashville is most famous for is its country stars. It’s hardly surprising that Keith, who displayed incredible vocal, songwriting and guitar talent from a young age, decided to move there from his humble beginnings in Caboolture, Queensland.
By all accounts, he was quite the hellraiser when he first arrived – and his drug-using past and subsequent sobriety is hardly a secret.
Keith’s saving grace was meeting Nicole at a G’Day USA event in Los Angeles around 2005 and marrying her a year later.
Weeks after they said ‘I do’, Nicole booked Keith into the Betty Ford clinic to clean him up – a decision that likely saved his life.
I’ve been told by several sources over the years that she encouraged him to cut ties with his original Nashville crew, many of whom were Australian musicians who had uprooted their own lives to help him make it in the U.S.
After getting sober, Keith began living the American dream, moving into a stunning $4million farmhouse with Nicole on the outskirts of the city.
I can say from experience that even the whiff of a paparazzo’s camera near their home’s high hedges and white-fenced paddocks would draw a hostile reaction.
Nashville’s rolling green outskirts are home to a plethora of celebrities
Taylor Swift owns a mansion and a penthouse apartment in Music City
Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel live just outside Nashville, near Leipers Fork
Music City boasts world-famous Honky Tonk Mile on Broadway
They soon threw themselves headfirst into Tennessee life, raising their daughters, Sunday and Faith, who attended school locally, and becoming valued members of the Catholic community.
They were mainstays at the Country Music Association Awards, the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville Predators ice hockey matches and Tennessee Titans NFL games.
It was a charmed life – until it wasn’t.
Monday brought news that Nicole and Keith had separated, with Keith moving out of the Nashville family home and into a nearby rental.
The fact that his new digs have so far not been leaked is a reflection of how tight-lipped locals can be when it comes to one of their own – even celebrities.
As for why they split, there have been claims that Keith had grown unhappy at the ‘lack of intimacy’ in their marriage. Nicole filed for divorce in Davidson County citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.
The speculation doing the rounds is that Keith, 57, may have already moved on after the split with a ‘younger woman in the business’.
Even for those in the know, the details of this supposed new romance remain sparse – and given that Nashville has closed ranks, they may remain so for some time.
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Ignore what everyone’s saying about Nicole Kidman’s divorce. The humiliating truth lies in what really drove her to seek explicit on-screen sex with younger men: MAUREEN CALLAHAN
For years, we heard the whispers out of Hollywood about Nicole and Keith. I saw the mask slip months ago: AMANDA GOFF
Nicole Kidman divorce gets nasty as friends reveal Keith Urban ‘rumor’ ripping through Nashville… how she ‘acted like his MOTHER’… and why their ‘sexy’ private life collapsed
How Nicole Kidman’s ‘bottomless need for sexual attention’ led to the end of her marriage to country music star Keith Urban: Nashville insiders open up to ALISON BOSHOFF
Nicole Kidman pictured for the first time since Keith Urban divorce… as friends share brutal new details of her ‘humiliation’ and why he finally ‘grew tired’
‘It’s going to be one big struggle for her’: Fresh problems for Nicole Kidman as insiders reveal how star’s child support arrangements with Keith Urban have ‘raised eyebrows’ after their split: KATIE HIND
