Keith Urban has been through the wringer, from growing up with an alcoholic dad who never showed love to him to almost ruining his new marriage with his addiction habits. Luckily, that is now all behind him, and today, he is a doting dad to his girls and a loving husband to his wife.
Keith Urban is a Grammy-winning country music singer, primarily recognized for his pop-rock influences and honest lyrics. For years, he had graced the stages with his songs, set behind melodious guitar tunes and strong emotions.
Now living every singer’s dream, Urban can only muse over how far he has come. The beginning of his career was not as glam as his life today, and he waded through some murky waters before achieving the near-perfect life he has today.
It was the early 90s, and Urban, then considered a long-haired guitar-slinging oddity, had just entered the music scenes. Nobody thought he was good enough, despite doing his best.
He lived on the shabby side of town and had a roommate who was a little too keen on using drugs. For a while, Urban stayed put, but when a girl he was dating broke up with him, he spiraled out of control and found himself caught up in the eternal cycle of careless drinking and drug use.
It became his lifestyle of choice for Urban, and he lived that way for years until someone came his way that made him change for the better.
Nicole Kidman Came into His Life and Became His Savior
Urban wallowed in his dilapidating lifestyle for over a decade, a livelihood marred with intense drug use and alcohol abuse. But in 2005, his fate seemed to change when he met the lovely “Eyes Wide Shut” actress Nicole Kidman.
The two fell in love fast, and the following year, they walked down the aisle in a romantic ceremony in Australia. However, his new life was not enough to stop his habits. Four months into their marriage, Urban’s drinking habits were already posing significant problems in the new union.
Still, instead of walking away, Kidman was hell-bent on helping her husband beat his habits, and the same year they walked down the aisle, Kidman staged an intervention for her new husband.
She helped him check into a rehab center, and after three months of inpatient hard work, the “You’ll Think of Me” singer returned home dedicated to staying on the sober train. He muses:
“I caused the implosion of my fresh marriage. It survived, but it’s a miracle it did.”
Urban admits that that time of his life was the hardest, a fact to which Kidman can testify. He confesses that it got to a point where he favored dying.
Urban considers Kidman his savior. The singer says he was spiritually awoken with her, and for the first time since the 90s, he felt he could shake off the shackles of addiction.
But how did a mild-mannered and soft-spoken kid’s life turn so drastic? When did the rain start beating him? Urban blames his adversities entirely on his upbringing.
Urban’s Childhood Influenced His Future Choices
The “Only You Can Love Me This Way” singer describes his childhood as anything but ideal. He grew up with an alcoholic father who never once told him he loved him.