Nicole Kidman teared up as her husband, Keith Urban, delivered an emotional speech for her at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award gala.
Nicole Kidman was honored as the 2024 recipient of the Life Achievement Award on April 27th.
According to the American Film Institute, the award was first established in 1973 and is the “highest honor for a career in film.”
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To honor Kidman, her whole family attended the event, including her two daughters, Sunday and Faith, who made a rare public appearance.
Keith Urban delivered a heartfelt speech to congratulate his wife, which ended up being almost 4 minutes long.
Starting off his speech, Urban reminisced about the first time he met his wife, telling the audience a funny story about getting her phone number, but was too afraid to call her. Turns out, he carried her number in his pocket for an entire week before mustering up the courage to do so.
As Urban continued speaking, the atmosphere became more emotional. He shared the story of the early days of their marriage, touching the hearts of every single person in the room.
In the middle of his speech, Urban dedicated some time to highlight Kidman’s support, especially during the challenging time of his stint in rehab. Keith Urban went to rehab for substance abuse only four months after marrying Kidman, admitting that he had “done really nothing about” his addictions.
“We got married in June, 2006, and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens. And I went into the Betty Ford Center for three months. Four months into a marriage, I’m in rehab for three months with no idea what was going to happen to us,” Urban confessed.
Because of this, Urban stopped drinking shortly after they got married. Kidman opened up more about the experience to PEOPLE, and shared some advice for those who may have a loved one battling addiction.
Kidman expressed, “Reach out. There is absolutely help out there. But you can’t save somebody. They’ve got to save themselves…But you can love them and give them enormous support and love.”
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During his speech, the emotion in Urban’s voice was clear as he continued to praise his wife for her unwavering strength and love during that time.
“Nic pushed through every negative voice — I’m sure even some of her own — and she chose love, and here we are tonight, 18 years later.”
After he said this, Kidman smiled and put her head down to wipe away her tears that had come as she watched Urban from the crowd.
It was such an emotional, heartwarming moment. You can really tell that these two have such a strong bond and love for each other.
Ending his tear-jerking speech, Urban shared:
“She has the capacity to love like no one I’ve ever met. And I know tonight’s all about her body of work so far — so far, baby — but next year will be twenty years that I’ve been madly in love with you. Congratulations baby girl, I love you.”
Can they get any sweeter? Watch Keith Urban’s emotional tribute to Nicole Kidman at the AFI Life Achievement Award gala below. (Don’t forget your tissues!)