A country singer says she is “heartbroken” for her friend Maggie Baugh who found herself at the centre of a rumour storm linking her to the end of Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s marriage.

Baugh, 25, a guitarist, was hardly a household name before she joined 57-year-old Urban’s High and Alive tour as a utility player.

She was previously best known for her TikTok series “Finish the Lick”, in which she performs her take on songs ranging from AC/DC’s Thunderstruck to Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

In the days after Urban and Kidman announced they had split ­­after 19 years together, rumours went wild that Urban was involved with a “younger woman”, leading to speculation it was Baugh.

However, on Saturday (AEDT) country musician Alexandra Kay stepped in to shut down the gossip.

“Honestly, I was heartbroken for them because the media scrutiny is insane and the things that people say,” Kay told Taste of Country.

“They’re like, stirring up rumours about Maggie Baugh, and I’m like, ‘She’s a good friend of mine and I know that’s absolutely not true.”

Kay said it was awful the way their personal lives were being picked apart.

“I’ve met her [Baugh’s] boyfriend, and she’s very happy, and she has nothing to do with that whole [Nicole and Keith] relationship.

“I feel sad for everybody involved that people are doing that and picking apart their personal life. I pray for peace for them and for everybody to have their privacy.”

Taste of Country reports that Baugh is no longer Urban’s guitarist.

“Though she was previously listed as a utility guitarist on Urban’s High and Alive tour, Baugh is currently focusing on her solo career and touring on her own.”

Online speculators had pointed to Baugh as the “other woman” because of a video she posted in the days before Urban and Kidman’s split was revealed.

It shows the young musician playing alongside Urban as he sings The Fighter, a song inspired by his relationship with Australian actress Kidman.

The original lyrics are “When they’re tryna get to you, baby, I’ll be the fighter”, but in this performance the 57-year-old country music star changed them to: “When they’re tryna get to you, Maggie, I’ll be your guitar player.”

Baugh posted the clip with the caption “Did he just say that”, accompanied by shocked emojis.

TMZ suggested the lyric change showed Urban was “ready to move on from Nicole Kidman … not just in his marriage, but in his music too”.

The entertainment website previously reported that Kidman ­– Oscar-winning star of films including Babygirl, Moulin Rouge and The Hours ­­­– had filed divorce papers in Nashville just a day after news broke of the couple’s split.

She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason, with TMZ stating that “Keith and Nicole’s inner circle believe he has moved on with another woman”.

 

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A post shared by Maggie Baugh (@maggie_baugh)

There are no indications of anything other than a professional relationship between Baugh and Urban. Clearly excited to be performing alongside the four-time Grammy winner, the younger artist may have given no thought to how her post might be viewed by some.

Nonetheless, it sparked a swift backlash online.

Kidman fans have mostly piled on Baugh, but some also take aim at Urban, with one commenting: “It is so trashy to do this to a song inspired by his wife. It’s the ultimate ick.”

Another wrote: “What a guy he took a song he wrote for his wife and put a different woman’s name in it now there’s class.”

Baugh first performed alongside Urban at America’s Country Music Television Awards in 2024, which led to her joining his 2025 world tour as a utility player ­(someone who can play multiple instruments).

The Florida-born musician ­­– who is also touring her own show – started out playing the violin at just six, then moved to Nashville at 18 to pursue her music career. Her debut album, Dear Me, was released in 2023 and, according to her website, had more than 500,000 streams in its first day, reaching No.9 on the Australian Country Album Charts. She has appeared on US talk shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Baugh shows off her instrumental skills in her TikTok series “Finish the Lick”, with her take on Beat It garnering more than six million views while the series has had more than 40 million views in total across all platforms.

@maggiebaugh @AC/DC #acdcthunderstruck #thunderstruckchallenge #finishthelick ♬ original sound – MaggieBaugh

Performing alongside Urban has clearly been a career highlight, with Baugh sharing photos from his tour on her website and socials, and also a video of them jamming together.

Ironically, Baugh also posted a TikTok video of herself walking through an airport with the caption: “Nobody in this airport knows I played to 21,000 people in a stadium yesterday with Keith Urban.”

Urban’s own Instagram account also includes posts about his High and Alive tour, with the latest attracting numerous comments about his impending divorce and urging him to “save your marriage!”.

He and Kidman have reportedly been living apart since June after Urban moved out of their Nashville home. The couple have two daughters together – Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14 – with Kidman seeking to be the “primary residential parent”.

Their divorce agreement is said to include a parenting plan and child support worksheet.

Nicole Kidman has filed for divorce from Keith Urban.

Further details emerged that suggested Urban might walk away from the relationship with a substantial windfall due to a so-called “cocaine clause” in their prenuptial agreement.

Numerous media outlets have reported that the unusual clause would see Kidman pay her husband $US600,000 ($900,000) for every year they were married that he stayed away from drugs and alcohol. Since he entered rehab soon after their 2006 wedding, the total sum would now be more than $US11 million ($A16.6 million).

Urban has spoken openly about his previous battle with drugs and alcohol, crediting Kidman’s love and support with helping in his recovery.

“We got married in 2006, and barely four months into our marriage, the addictions that I had done really nothing about blew our marriage to smithereens,” he said in a speech last year.

“Four months into a marriage, and I’m in rehab for three months with no idea what was going to happen to us. Nic pushed through every negative voice – I’m sure even some of her own – and she chose love.”

Kidman and Urban’s divorce filing states that each parent earns more than $US100,000 a month and neither will need childcare or spousal support.

The marriage dissolution plan lays out a roughly equal division of joint assets, with each keeping all the assets that are in their own name, including the copyrights and royalties for their artistic work.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kidman has a net worth of $US250 million ($378 million), with the website saying she has “consistently ranked as one of the highest-paid performers in the world”. It puts Keith Urban’s net worth at $US75 million ($113 million), noting that alongside his music career he is also a judge on American Idol and The Voice Australia.

Kidman – who was was spotted hiking with her sister Antonia  on trails near her Nashville home the day after filing for divorce – was previously married to Top Gun star Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001, with the pair acting together in films including Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut.

They had two adopted children together, Bella and Connor. They are now aged 32 and 30 but reportedly have had little to do with Kidman since the end of her marriage to Cruise.

The actress met Urban at the G’Day USA gala in Los Angeles four years later.

Asked about the extensive media coverage of her divorce from Cruise during an interview with Harpers Bazaar in 2021, the actress said she always tried to be “as open as possible”.

“I’m wary at times, and I’ve been hurt, but at the same time I much prefer a warm approach rather than a prickly shutdown approach,” she said.

“My husband, Keith, says that when he met me, he said, ‘How’s your heart?’ And I apparently responded, ‘Open.’”

-with AAP