Rocking a red sequinned dress and head-turning feathered trim for the Met Gala, Nicole Kidman looked every inch a woman ready for a bold new era after calling it quits with hubby Keith Urban just eight months ago.
The 58-year-old Oscar-winner and Met Gala co-chair turned heads as she sashayed down that famous carpet looking more glam than ever, but she wasn’t flying solo.
Daughter Sunday Rose, now 17, totally stole the show at her very first Met, wowing in a vibrant purple co-ord and cosying up to her mum for Insta-ready snaps. Their picture-perfect appearance is just the latest in Nicole’s ‘single mum’ glow-up, showcasing a new, determined stance after her heartbreak over her split from country icon Keith.
But close pals are whispering that Nicole and Sunday’s united front is no coincidence – and apparently not everyone is loving the red-carpet family affair! We’re told the glossy snaps have left Keith ‘gutted’, with a source revealing he’s feeling more shut out than ever from his family.
Keith’s upset that the girls seem to be loving life without him ©Getty Images
Our insider says, ‘Keith has shown a lot of class throughout this process, he’s kept his side of the street clean and then some. He doesn’t trash talk Nicole or accuse her of poisoning the kids against him, even though it’s a gut-wrenching adjustment to try and stay positive when the cold reality is that they’re not currently a part of his life.
‘But never in a million years did he envisage any scenario this brutal, and it hurts all the more to see the girls parading around with Nicole and clearly loving life more than they ever did when he was on the scene.’
The pair’s shock split went public back in September after nearly 20 years together, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’ It’s believed that Keith called time on things – but he’s reportedly been struggling since agreeing to a custody deal that allegedly leaves him with barely any time with his daughters.
Keith, also 58, has never hidden how lonely work trips and long shoots could be while making his series, The Road. He once confessed, ‘When you wake up on a tour bus at 3.30 in the morning and you’re sick as a dog, you’re in the middle of nowhere and you’ve got to play your fifth show later that night, and you haven’t slept, and you miss your friends, and you’re missing your family, and you’re completely lonely and miserable and sick – and you say to yourself, “Why am I doing this?”‘
Keith on The Road… he says it can be lonely and miserable ©Getty Images
Now, sources say the post-divorce blues have hit even harder. Nicole reportedly has primary custody, so Keith’s time with the girls has plummeted to just 59 days a year. Fans have been left wide-eyed at how little parenting time Keith gets – but, apparently, he signed the agreement to keep things cool with Nicole, even though close friends are said to feel he’s given up too much.
The source explains, ‘He signed the paperwork [giving him very limited access to the girls] because it felt like the right thing to do, even though a lot of people were puzzled that he surrendered without any type of fight.
‘He’s done everything in his power to make this as easy on her as possible, just look at the settlement he signed, and she seems to be doing the opposite.’
It’s not the first time Keith’s been stung watching from afar as Nicole and the girls appear to go from strength to strength. Just last December, Nicole posted festive pics from Faith’s birthday in Australia – but eagle-eyed fans noticed Keith was nowhere to be seen. At the time, sources claimed the images were ‘a gut punch’ for Keith – and things only got frostier after Sunday gushed about Nicole being her ‘biggest inspiration’ in Elle Australia in March.
To top things off, Sunday actually unfollowed her dad on socials in April, before adding him back a few hours later.
Insiders tell us Keith is now fearful the distance will only get worse and is desperate not to put a foot wrong, quietly hoping Nicole will have a change of heart and let them reconnect. The source adds, ‘He’s terrified of making the situation even worse so instead he’s left praying that Nicole will eventually soften and realize how important it is for the children to have a healthy relationship with both parents.’
The family in happier times in 2024 ©Getty Images
‘It’s an admirable stance but he’s not doing himself any favours and the worry is that the longer this goes on, the worse things will get.’
Meanwhile, rumours around their marriage split have only ramped up. Keith’s been linked to younger women on his tour – including singers Maggie Baugh and Karley Scott Collins – though everyone’s strongly denied any romance.
But talk of Keith’s links to much-younger pals is said to be another reason his daughters are turning their backs. A source spills, ‘[The girls] are completely Team Nicole and, right now, Keith is the bad guy. He loves those girls, but they are so angry at him and they’re blaming him.’
Nicole, on the other hand, has laid her feelings bare, admitting she’s ‘hanging in there’ and adjusting to life on her own. But Keith’s circle is worried that Nicole’s carefully curated single-mum image is edging out any hope of him rebuilding bridges with his girls.
One insider sums it up, ‘Nicole is a genius when it comes to protecting her image, she’s always so in control of every detail, when Keith left it was the first time anyone can remember that she was caught off guard.
‘Clearly there were issues in the marriage, or he wouldn’t have wanted to divorce, but that didn’t match the image of the perfect couple she was pushing on social media right up until the moment he left.
Nicole wants to prove she came out on top post-split ©Getty Images
‘The general consensus among his inner circle is that this determination to present this glamorous, thriving single-mom image is about proving to the world, and maybe to herself too, that she came out on top after the split.’
Despite the behind-the-scenes tension, Keith is staying away from drama – friends say he’s making every effort to quietly rebuild bridges with Sunday and Faith.
‘The really frustrating part for a lot of Keith’s friends is that fact that he’s refusing to fight back. And from Keith’s perspective, that’s incredibly painful because he never wanted any of this to happen in the first place,’ our source says.
‘He loves his girls so much, and people around him say he’s absolutely heartbroken over how distant things have become.’
WATCH: ‘No One Wants To Sh*g You Anymore!’ Pete Wicks & Vicky Pattison Play Who’s Most Likely To
