empire

NICOLE Kidman and Keith Urban face the tough task of dividing their staggering £210million property portfolio as part of their divorce settlement.

The former couple’s marriage is now officially over after the superstar pair finalised their split this week, and they’ve come to an agreement on how their collection of multi-million pound homes will be divvied up.

According to documents seen by the Daily Mail, both Nicole and Keith will retain ownership of the properties already in their possession and the rest will be split to their mutual satisfaction.

It is believed the majority of the exes’ properties were all jointly purchased following their wedding in 2006.

The most recent purchase came in 2023 in the form of a £5.7m three-bed apartment in Sydney‘s exclusive Landmark Latitude complex – their sixth property in the same high rise.

They have another £13.3m wrapped up in the complex.

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Nicole and Keith first bought into the apartment block in 2009, picking up a sizeable 420-square-metre pad overlooking the city’s famous harbour for a cool £4.45m.

A further £5.2m was splashed on a larger neighbouring apartment when that became available in 2012.

The couple bought into the 19th floor in 2011, paying £2m on a smaller space that Nicole used as a home office.

Variety is the spice of life, and Nicole and Keith diversified over the years, adding mansions to their portfolio.

Music mecca Nashville was first on their list.

They bought a huge 20-room home in the city back in 2008 for a seemingly reasonable £2.6million.

It was their primary home throughout their married years and a sanctuary away from bright lights.

Nicole previously said: “Keith and I are very good at immediately clicking off because we have a really good life in Nashville that’s very simple, quiet, and nourishing because we’ve made it like that.”

It’s likely Nicole will remain here as she has been granted the primary custody of their children.

A five-bedroom Beverly Hills bolt hole quickly followed for £3.5million, a perfect base for Hollywood queen Nicole. It has an outdoor pool with a slide and a stunning views of the city from is wrap-around terrace.

The pair also had sights set on property on the East Coast.

Their biggest purchase saw them drop a huge £10.03million on a 10th floor Manhattan duplex complete with futuristic elevator, before adding a smaller, stylishly designed apartment in trendy Tribeca to the books in 2020 for a comparatively cheap £4.2million.

One of them will now need to change their retirement plan, though.

They picked up a six-bedroom home full of character in New South Wales on a sprawling 45 hectare site in 2008 for £4.8m.

A working farm that is home to alpacas and cows, it features a guest cottage perfect for those travelling to the remote location.

There’s plenty in the way of entertainment too with an 18-metre pool and tennis court.

It would have been the perfect place to spend quiet, contemplative days outdoors when it’s time to hang up their working boots.

Meanwhile, court documents obtained by Page Six reveal that Nicole and Keith have waived all child and spousal support.

The former couple’s two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15, will stay with Nicole for 306 days a year.

Keith will spend 59 days, or “every other weekend” with them, according to court documents.

Nicole and Keith, both 58, agreed to not pay child support, citing reported monthly incomes exceeding $100,000 each.

They also agreed not to pay alimony or spousal support, making each party responsible for their own legal fees.

The former couple decided that all property – including investments, bank accounts, vehicles, and personal items – will be divided by mutual agreement, and each person will keep what they already have.

It remains unclear if they had a prenuptial agreement.

Nicole waived her right to be in court on Tuesday, as she had returned from Australia with her daughters the previous day.

The settlement comes just months after Nicole filed for divorce on September 30, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

A source told the Sun at the time that Nicole and Keith had been “living separate lives” for three years prior to their split.

The insider revealed that Nicole’s back-to-back filming schedule and Keith’s world tour made it difficult for the couple to see each other.

Nicole was reportedly “blindsided” by the split after helping Keith through his struggles with alcohol addiction.

She made several attempts to save their marriage, but Keith was already “done” with the relationship, according to TMZ.

“But Keith has long had his demons and it was vital to Nicole that he didn’t drink if he was to make their marriage work,” the insider told the Sun.

“He has openly told friends he’s made ­mistakes in the past, but Nicole was constantly checking on him, making sure he was OK.

“It came from a loving place of concern but it was a case of ‘one more drink and game over’.

“It was a lot of pressure on them.”

Now, insiders in Nicole’s camp believe he may have moved on already.

The singer was rumored to be romantically linked to his guitarist, Maggie Baugh, 25.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s Relationship Timeline

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have been one of Hollywood’s ‘It” couples for nearly two decades. However, their relationship took a turn in September 2025, when news broke that the pair had separated and were living apart. Here’s a look back at the timeline of their romance.

January 2005 – Nicole and Keith were introduced by actor Geoffrey Rush during the G’Day LA Gala Ball.

February 2006 – The couple made their public debut as an item at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

May 2006 – Keith’s publicist revealed that he and Nicole were “very happily engaged.”

June 2006 – The two tied the knot at a chapel in Manly, Australia, surrounded by many famous guests.

October 2006 – Keith checked himself into rehab for drug and alcohol issues at the urging of his new wife.

December 2006 – Model Amanda Wyatt claimed that Keith had cheated on Nicole with her multiple times, leading up to their nuptials.

January 2008 – Nicole’s rep revealed that she and Keith were expecting their first child together.

July 2008 – Keith and Nicole welcomed their first child, a daughter named Sunday Rose.

December 2010 – The duo introduced their second child, Faith Margaret, to the world, whom they welcomed via surrogate.

July 2015 – Nicole confessed to Vogue that she wished she’d met Keith earlier in life, so that they could’ve had more children together.

June 2016 – Keith opened up to Rolling Stone about how Nicole helped him get sober by insisting that he go to rehab a decade earlier.

October 2018 – Nicole gushed about her simple, quiet life in Nashville with Keith, and said that was the secret to their happy marriage.

June 2021 – Keith shared a sweet Instagram post, commemorating his and Nicole’s 15th wedding anniversary.

July 2024 – Keith, Nicole, and their daughters were seen enjoying the Gymnastics Women’s Team Final at the Paris Olympics.

April 2025 – Nicole referred to Keith as her “deep, deep love” during an interview with People, and said she was “lucky” to have the musician.

September 2025 – TMZ announced that Nicole and Keith had separated and were no longer living together, and Nicole filed for divorce.

January 2026 – Nicole and Keith’s divorce is finalized.

Keith appeared to reference Maggie in a song lyric originally written for Nicole.

“When they’re tryna get to you, Maggie I’ll be your guitar player,” Keith sang in a video posted to Maggie’s Instagram on September 28.

The original lyric goes, “When they’re tryna get to you, baby I’ll be the fighter.”

Keith previously told Billboard about the song: “It’s all from a conversation my wife and I had early on in our relationship, that when things get tough, I need to hold her tighter and just try to take care of her.“

This film explores how the Spanish empire built its global dominance by fusing military conquest, religious conversion and imperial wealth.

At the heart of the Spanish expansion was the close alliance between crown, church and conquest. Military campaigns were inseparable from missionary efforts as conversion to Christianity became both a justification for empire and a tool of control. Faith and force advanced together, reshaping societies across the Americas.

Through the conquests of the Aztec and Incan empires, the documentary shows how Spanish power was established through violence, alliances and religious authority. The mission system spread across the Americas, reorganising Indigenous life around churches, labour regimes and colonial administration. Conversion promised salvation but enforced obedience and cultural destruction.

The film also examines the economic foundations of Spanish imperial power. Vast quantities of gold and silver were extracted from the Americas alongside the exploitation of Indigenous and enslaved labour. These resources fuelled European economies, financed global trade and helped integrate the Americas into an emerging world system built on extraction and inequality.

By tracing how faith, conquest and wealth operated together, the documentary reveals how Spanish colonialism shaped global capitalism, religious power and imperial governance. It shows how the legacies of conquest, forced conversion and resource extraction continue to influence social inequality, cultural identity and economic structures in the modern world and how current global superpowers like the United States and China adopt this model to their benefit. It also draws on the parallels between the erasure of cultural artefacts then and today’s “algorithmic colonisation”.

The holiday season is Hallmark’s Super Bowl.

This year alone, Hallmark has 80 hours of original holiday-themed programming, including two unscripted series, two scripted series, a holiday special and 24 movies with titles such as “The Snow Must Go On” and “Christmas at the Catnip Cafe” that run from mid-October to Christmas.

The company also has branched out into the experiences business with a Hallmark Christmas Cruise and the Hallmark Christmas Experience festival in Kansas City, Mo., where the company is based.

“I think that’s one of the most brilliant business decisions they’ve made, and they’re expanding there because they have to,” Anjali Bal, associate professor of marketing at Babson College, said of Hallmark’s experiences business. “It allows a connection between the consumer and the brand on a direct level in a way a movie can’t provide.”

It may seem like a far cry from Hallmark’s roots as a greeting card purveyor, but company executives say the holiday feelings evoked by its cards, ornaments and gift wrap translate into the type of content they produce.

And that plethora of content has turned Hallmark into a Christmas juggernaut, fueling competitors such as Lifetime and Netflix, which also produce holiday romantic comedies in the vein of Hallmark movies.

But Darren Abbott, Hallmark’s chief brand officer, doesn’t seem overly concerned.

“There’s a reason everyone else is trying to do this, and it’s because consumers are looking for this,” he said.

Hallmark’s legacy is rooted in celebrating holidays and Christmas, he said, “and no other business or brand has that.”

Countdown to Christmas

Founded in 1910 by an 18-year-old entrepreneur hawking postcards, Hallmark built its brand over the years through cards, holiday ornaments and retail stores.

The family-owned business ventured into entertainment in 1951 with the television presentation Hallmark Hall of Fame. Today, Studio City-based Hallmark Media operates three cable networks, including the Hallmark Channel, which debuted in 2001, as well as a subscription streaming service.

Though Hallmark had aired holiday movies practically since the inception of its cable channel, the company doubled down on the season in 2009, rolling out “Countdown to Christmas,” a 24-hour-a-day programming block focused solely on holiday content, a tradition that has lasted for 16 years.

Hallmark produces about 100 movies a year, both holiday and non-holiday films.

As a privately-held company, Hallmark did not disclose its finances, though executives acknowledge the holiday season is a key driver of entertainment revenue.

The expansion into entertainment is a way for Hallmark to stay in the zeitgeist over multiple generations and to diversify its business beyond just cards and retail products, analysts said.

“Their television stations and experiences business allows them to stay culturally relevant while staying true to their origin,” said Bal, the marketing professor.

Holiday programming — and the breezy, romantic fare Hallmark has become known for — has become increasingly popular with audiences.

Holiday features, both old movies and new, typically make up more than a third of total movie viewing time in December, according to U.S. television data from Nielsen. That percentage has remained fairly consistent for the last three years, though it reached 42% in December 2021.

Hallmark’s television viewership also edges up in the months leading into the holidays. In October, Hallmark commanded 1% of total viewership across linear TV and streaming, ticking up to 1.2% in November, according to Nielsen data. During that same time, competitor A&E, which owns Lifetime, remained constant at 0.9%.

Hallmark’s feel-good movies typically resonate with audiences across the country. They invariably conclude with happy endings (and at least one kiss), where romantic misunderstandings, financial difficulties and family drama all get resolved. After years of criticism, the movies’ casts and plot lines are diversifying, though experts say there is still room for improvement.

“These films are designed to be highly appealing to broad audiences,” said Kit Hughes, associate professor of film and media studies at Colorado State University, who watched every single Hallmark film released in 2022 for research on the portrayal of small business owners. “They’re good consensus movies.”

To grow its audience and the types of stories it tells, Hallmark has increasingly turned to brand partnerships, including with the NFL.

Last year, the company released a movie centered around a Kansas City Chiefs romance; this year, it released one about Buffalo Bills fans. Hallmark also has a partnership with Walt Disney Co. to release a holiday movie next year set at Walt Disney World. The film stars Lacey Chabert, who Abbott describes as Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas.”

Meeting Hallmark stars on cruise ships

Hallmark’s foray into the cruise business might seem odd, but it follows a long tradition of entertainment companies
creating real-world experiences with their fans, whether that’s on a ship, in a theme park or on a stage. As part of its massive tourism business, Disney operates its own line of cruise ships that promote the company’s classic characters.

Hallmark launched its first “Hallmark Christmas Cruise” last year on Norwegian Cruise Lines. The inaugural cruise from Miami to the Bahamas sold out even before a planned TV marketing campaign. After racking up a wait list of 70,000 people, Hallmark had to add a second cruise, Abbott said.

For this year’s cruise, from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico, Hallmark had to book a bigger ship to accommodate demand. During the November cruise, attendees participated in various Christmas festivities, such as ornament-making workshops and cookie-decorating, and mingled with Hallmark stars in various on-stage games.

The cruises even spawned an unscripted Hallmark show focused on the experiences of several attendees and their interactions with Hallmark actors.

Many are not exactly household names, but they’ve starred in dozens of Hallmark holiday movies over the years and have loyal fan bases.

Abbott joined the cruise last year, and while he’s not a “cruise person,” he said he was fascinated to see how guests interacted with the stars.

“We’re a bit of a respite from what’s going on in the world right now,” he said, “and these experiences sort of hit on that at the right time and the right place.”

Beyond armies and violence, France built its empire through language, schooling and cultural influence. This film explores how assimilation became a method of rule and a source of resistance.

At the heart of French colonial rule was the mission “civilisatrice”, a doctrine that claimed to lift up colonised societies through education, administration and the French language. In practice, this system sought to reshape colonised people’s identities, loyalties and cultures, replacing local traditions with French norms while maintaining strict political and economic control. Schools, legal systems and bureaucracies became tools of empire as powerful as armies.

Through case studies in Algeria, Indochina and West Africa, the documentary shows how colonial administrations operated on the ground. In Algeria, settler colonialism and mass repression led to war. In Indochina, education and bureaucracy coexisted with exploitation and nationalist resistance. In West Africa, language policy and indirect rule reshaped social hierarchies and governance.

This episode examines how resistance movements challenged the promise of civilisation, forcing France to confront the contradictions at the heart of its empire. Anticolonial struggles, intellectual movements and armed uprisings not only weakened imperial rule but reshaped French politics, culture and identity itself.

The documentary also places French colonial strategies in a broader modern context. In the contemporary world, the United States projects influence less through formal empire and more through soft power. Hollywood cinema, television and digital platforms circulate American values, lifestyles and narratives globally, shaping cultural imagination in ways that echo earlier imperial projects. At the same time, US dominance in higher education, academic publishing and institutional standards helps define what knowledge is valued, taught and legitimised worldwide.

It also draws direct connections between French colonialism and the modern world. Contemporary debates over language, immigration, secularism and inequality are deeply rooted in colonial systems designed to classify, discipline and extract. Many modern state institutions, education models and economic relationships reflect structures first imposed under empire.

By tracing how cultural control, education and administration functioned as instruments of power, the documentary reveals how the legacy of French colonialism continues to shape modern capitalism, global inequality and postcolonial relations today.