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Keith Urban talks 'struggling' through rocky relationship in unearthed interview

The 57-year-old battled with addiction during his rise to fame

Faye James
Senior Editor
January 23, 2025
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Despite Keith Urban's seemingly perfect marriage to his wife of almost 18 years, Nicole Kidman, the country crooner is no stranger to rocky relationships.

Keith battled with alcohol abuse during his rise to fame, revealing how it wasn't until he got an abrupt wake-up call from his then-girlfriend that he realized he was in a dark place.

The father of two spoke on the Q with Tom Power podcast about his hit 2002 track, 'Somebody Like You', explaining that when he played it for his partner, her reaction was unexpected.

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"I was in a bad way personally, struggling a lot, and I was in a relationship that was not…" he trailed off.

"I wasn't in a good way, and I thought at the time, 'My girlfriend seems to really love me. I wish I could love myself the way she seems to,'" he said. 

"So the song was actually, 'I want to love somebody like you do, I want to love me like you do.'"

Keith Urban speaks onstage during the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Nicole Kidman© Michael Kovac
Keith struggled with addiction during his rise to fame

He added that after recording the song, he wanted her to hear it, "not realizing what I'm doing." 

Keith's girlfriend was far from happy after hearing the lyrics. "She hears it as a love song, and it finished, and she just looks at me, she goes, 'You're a [expletive] hypocrite,' and then walked out of the room," he recalled. 

"She's like, 'You don't want to love anyone, you're just an [expletive].' And she wasn't wrong. It wasn't the guy I was, it was the guy I wished I could be."

Keith Urban performs onstage during the 2024 CMA Music festival at the Nissan Stadium on June 08© Getty Images
Keith revealed that his then-girlfriend walked out when he played her 'Somebody Like You'

Despite Keith being in the depths of his addiction, he often wrote happy songs to deal with his low mental health. 

"I came to the realization that they're probably more whistling in the dark songs," he said on the podcast. 

"I wasn't optimistic. I wasn't happy, joyous and excited. I wanted to be that, so I would write songs to make me feel like that."

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban on the red carpet © Don Arnold
Keith and Nicole met in 2005

Keith previously explained at a SXSW conference how he "sucked at relationships" before he met Nicole at a G'Day USA Gala in 2005. The couple went on their first date four months after meeting and quickly fell in love, enjoying a Sydney wedding in 2006. 

Mere months after they tied the knot, Nicole had reached a breaking point with Keith's addiction and staged an intervention.

"I was very, very blessed to have Nic call an intervention on me," Keith told The Daily Telegraph, adding that he'd "caused the implosion of my fresh marriage". 

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman are seen backstage at the Concert For Carolina Benefit Concert at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.© Getty Images
Nicole staged an intervention and Keith checked into rehab

'The Fighter' singer sobered up in rehab, sharing at SXSW that he regretted not getting help before this point. 

"I wish I'd gotten sober many years earlier than I did, but it is what it is," he admitted. "I knew I wasn't at my full potential, and that's what was starting to get to me. I was enslaved...I was living a very, very small life."

Keith's hard work has brought him so much joy: his marriage with the Babygirl actress appears stronger than ever, he is the proud father of daughters Sunday and Faith, and his career couldn't be better as he prepares to embark on his High and Alive world tour.  

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