Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are locked in a bitter battle over property after the Aussie actress learned her husband is clinging onto his secret “bachelor pad”.
Nicole is said to have “gently encouraged” Keith to slash the price of his farmhouse in Tennessee because she’s desperate for him to dump his old bolthole, New Idea can exclusively reveal.
The country music star bought the 14-hectare ranch in Franklin, just outside of Nashville, in the name of his money manager, Mary Ann McCready, for $2.8 million in 2007, and sources say he used it as his “luxury man cave”, retreating to the estate to write his music.
Keith, 50, renovated the main house on the estate and was hoping to make big money on the sale, but was forced to drop the price from $4.8 million to a less ambitious $3.8 million last month, according to reports.
“It was Keith’s idea to buy the ranch,” and insider reveals.
“He liked to get away from it all and write songs there, but Nicole has wanted him to sell up for years,” the insider adds.
“She stood by him through his addiction problems and put him in rehab four months after they got married, and whenever he’s left alone she worries about him – especially when he’s holed up in a lonely farmhouse on his own. Him relapsing has always been and always will be her greatest fear.”
Keith and Nicole, 51, who have daughters Faith Margaret, 7, and Sunday Rose, 10, also bought a 1115-square-metre family property in a gated estate in Nashville in 2008, which they’ve made their main base.
“He [Keith] loved the land when he first bought it, and it’s a beautiful property in a very peaceful area outside of central
“Nicole persuaded him to rent out the property and now they want to get rid of it completely as she prefers to stay in their gated community.
“Although Keith has been clean for years now and they’ve been through a lot, they’re the first to admit it’s still a daily battle to keep him on the straight and narrow, and the fact that he’s stayed clean is all because of her.”
And it appears the struggle to offload Keith’s bachelor pad is getting to Nicole. Last week the usually cool and calm actress lost her temper in a rare public display at the Toronto Film Festival when asked to rank the wig she wears in upcoming movie Destroyer compared to others she’s worn in the past.
Despite happily answering more personal questions about her daughters and family life, stressed-out Nicole seemed to take offence to the seemingly innocuous question. Journalist Mark Olsen tweeted: “ ‘That’s an awful question. I am shutting that question down.’ Nicole Kidman, lightly but genuinely, to an audience question.”
Locals close to Keith’s ranch say they have spotted Nicole on occasion, but it was Keith who loved the area, which is said to remind him of the past.
“He used to have a place years ago just around the corner and likes being in the country more than the city,” said a neighbour.
“I have seen Nicole walking along the path a few times, but not recently. It seems they’ve both moved on and prefer to be somewhere with more security.”
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea, on sale now!
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