Three years ago, it looked like it was all systems go for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban to relocate their family back to Australia.
Nic, 55, was telling friends how thrilled she was to be reuniting with her ailing mum, Janelle, and sister Antonia. She and Keith were also said to be looking at schools near their NSW Southern Highlands cattle stud to enrol Sunday, 15, and Faith, 12, in.
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Despite Nicole’s obvious excitement, a permanent return from America has so far failed to materialise.
“After the pandemic lockdowns, Keith was keen to get back to touring, and his main market is the US,” a close source explains.
“He understood Nicole’s need to move to Australia, but he wanted to stick around a while longer. They compromised and have visited Sydney several times since. But Nicole’s hankering for home never went away.”
One source says Keith, also 55, has continued to promise they’d return to Australia “soon”.
However, after a terrifying tragedy occurred almost literally on their doorstep in Nashville, Tennessee, we’re told that Nicole is ready to put her daughters straight on a plane and head Down Under once she wraps filming her current project in Nantucket, Massachusetts, over the next few months.
New Idea can exclusively reveal that Nicole and Keith’s home is less than a five-minute drive from The Covenant School. Last month, a former student armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun – all obtained legally under Tennessee law – opened fire in the school, killing three children and three staff members.
Among the deceased was the headmistress, who attempted to save her students.
This comes after a spate of school shootings amid the United States’ infamous gun scourge, which has recently seen firearm incidents become the number-one cause of death among America’s kids.
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“You hear about shootings every day in the US and it’s scary, but this one was literally way too close to home for Nicole,” says a source within the community.
“All the mums are terrified for their children, not only because of the guns, but also the anxiety they feel while simply getting an education.”
It’s thought that Sunday and Faith, who are too old to attend Covenant, go to school elsewhere in the area.
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“You really can’t blame Nicole for wanting to scoop up her girls and get on the first flight out,” says a separate insider.
“Keith’s locked in to his Las Vegas residency until November, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if she went to Australia without him. Their number-one priority will always be to keep their daughters safe and happy, and both of them are utterly devastated about the senseless loss their community is suffering through.”
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