Keith Urban Dishes About Life With Nicole Kidman: “It Was Life-Beginning”

On the wings of his new album, Ripcord, Keith Urban agreed to talk about life after he married Nicole Kidman. He offered a heartfelt interview with CBS that will be shown on Sunday Morning on May 8. It’s the perfect Mother’s Day interview, is it not?

The 48-year-old country star and American Idol judge admitted that his life is entirely different now that he’s been married to the love of his life.

“Meeting her and getting married wasn’t life-changing, it was life-beginning. It was literally, like, ‘OK, life starts.’ “

The country singer can’t say enough nice things about his wife of nearly 10 years. The couple have two daughters together, Sunday, who is seven, and Faith, who is five.

It’s fairly evident that Kidman had a profound impact on Urban’s life, because he’s a much different person now than he was in the years before they met.

In 2002, Urban posed nude for Playgirl magazine, which he now says he deeply regrets. He admitted to Tonight Show host Jay Leno a couple of years ago that it wasn’t something he wanted people to remember him by, and he’s ashamed for being a part of it.

He’s also had several run-ins with drug abuse. When living in Nashville as a 20-something celebrity, he became a frequent user of cocaine and was forced to check into a rehabilitation center to recover. After kicking the habit, he went through another stint of substance abuse in the years leading up to the couple’s marriage. With much prompting from his new bride, Keith checked himself into another rehab clinic.

“I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me,” Urban said shortly after word about a second stint in rehab got out. “One can never let one’s guard down on recovery, and I’m afraid that I have.”

He’s been clean from cocaine ever since, and has lived a fairly unblemished life since then. The family-man side of Keith Urban is much more mature and reserved than his younger self, and it’s clear that Nicole and their two daughters have made a huge difference in his life.

This tidbit is the only information available, as of now, regarding his exclusive interview with CBS. But, you can hear more about his tribute to his wife and the mother of his children on Mother’s Day.

The interview wasn’t all about the women in his life, however. He also talked about his start as a musician. He admitted to undergoing quite a struggle to make it big in Nashville.

“I really wasn’t prepared for how long it was going to take,” Urban said. “I was just really musically out of step with everything here, but I wanted to be here, so it was just digging in roots and staying the course.”

He told CBS reporter John Blackstone that his style of country music was too different for the Nashville mold at that time. It was difficult for him to get started because the land of country music wasn’t ready for his style just yet.

But his slow start didn’t get him down, and he’s saying now that he’s never felt better about his music.

“I’ve always had that feeling,” Urban tells Blackstone. “I have for many, many years… that everything is now. This is all there is, now. In the moment.”

His newest album, Ripcord, is the perfect example of his different style and ever-growing popularity. It has a range of special features and effects that allows it to cross genres, including synthesizers, guitar leads, guest appearances, a drum machine, samplers, and a six-string Banjo.

Keith Urban continues to please his vast crowd of fans with a variety of musical talents and wife Nicole Kidman on his arm.

[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]