**Keith Urban’s Dark Past Resurfaces Following Split from Nicole Kidman**
*Published Oct. 17, 2025, 3:30 p.m. ET*
Keith Urban’s dark past has come back into the spotlight following his recent split from wife Nicole Kidman. RadarOnline.com has revealed that the country singer’s former writing partner claims Urban once snorted thousands of dollars’ worth of cocaine.
### Urban’s Shocking Past Revealed
Vernon Rust, Urban’s former friend and songwriting collaborator, exposes the singer’s shocking behavior in his new memoir, *Fake News*. Rust alleges that in the late 1990s, he and Urban engaged in an “epic” multi-day cocaine binge, snorting approximately $320,000 worth of the drug.
“We lived in the studio,” Rust writes. “We did a lot of coke and stayed up for days.” He further claims that Urban’s substance use extended beyond cocaine to include crack and weed.
Before the memoir was published, Rust had already spoken openly about his past with Urban after meeting him in Nashville in 1993. The two quickly became inseparable friends and frequent collaborators.
### Drug Use During The Ranch Era
During the time Urban worked with his now-defunct band, The Ranch, on their 1997 self-titled album, Rust recalled that drugs were omnipresent. “We all got into it. Keith more than anyone,” he said.
According to Rust, Urban’s drug of choice was crack cocaine, and “he always got the first pick of the drugs when they turned up.” Rust described Urban’s intense binges, some of which ended with him being found “curled up in the fetal position” in crack dens.
He added, “Keith would take the hit and crawl under beds, crawl across roofs, walk off — he was on another level.”
### Turning Point and Rehab
When Urban met Nicole Kidman in 2005, the singer was reportedly heavily involved with drugs and alcohol. Following their wedding, Kidman prompted Urban to enter a three-month rehab program—a decision that he later said changed his life.
“That’s the point right there, where she really should’ve just walked,” Urban told Oprah Winfrey in 2010. “I’m just so glad she didn’t, and she made a decision to turn around and initiate, ultimately, this intervention… I was like, ‘Put the cuffs on, let’s go.’”
In a *Rolling Stone* interview, Urban expressed gratitude: “I was very, very blessed to have Nic call an intervention on me. I had a tight group of friends around me for the intervention. And off I went.”
Prior to Kidman’s involvement, Urban revealed he was not in any recovery program, had no sponsor, and wasn’t part of AA. He credited his relationship with Kidman for his sobriety, stating, “Meeting Nic and falling in love with Nic and starting a relationship with Nic became – I realize now in hindsight – my sobriety.”
### Kidman’s Support and Their Separation
Kidman, in an interview with *Vanity Fair*, affirmed her commitment to Urban: “I’m more than willing to walk it with him.”
Despite this, the couple’s relationship has hit a rocky patch. Kidman, 58, filed for divorce late last month, citing “irreconcilable differences” after efforts to save their marriage reportedly failed.
Sources reveal that their prenuptial agreement includes some unusual clauses, including a “cocaine clause.” This clause states that Urban would be entitled to $600,000 from Kidman for every year they were married, totaling just over $11 million—on one condition: Urban must abstain from drugs and alcohol.
### Life After Separation
Amid the turmoil, Urban is said to have already moved on. Sources have linked the singer to his female guitarist, Maggie Baugh, suggesting he’s begun new relationships following the split.
As the couple navigates their separation, fans remain hopeful that both Urban and Kidman find peace and happiness in their respective paths.
https://radaronline.com/p/keith-urban-drugs-past-revealed-snorted-cocaine-split-from-nicole-kidman/
