Urban

A popular Australian radio show has been axed following a much-discussed controversy involving Keith Urban, in which he hung up on the programme amid an interview

A popular Australian radio show has been axed following a much-discussed controversy involving Keith Urban. The Aussie musician, 57, made an appearance on Australian Radio Network (ARN)’s Hayley & Max In The Morning, which has been hosted by Max Burford and Hayley Pearson for just under a year.

The interview took place just weeks before it was revealed that he and Nicole Kidman had called time on their near-20 year marriage, and that the Hollywood actress had filed for divorce herself. It all seemed to be going well until he was asked about Nicole’s sex scenes with Zac Efron in their film A Family Affair

He was asked: “What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron, having these beautiful love scenes on TV?” Keith’s only response was to end the interview then and there. A member of the crew was heard saying he and his team didn’t like the line of questioning and pulled the chat.

READ MORE: Keith Urban ‘drops Nicole Kidman-inspired song from tour’ amid shock divorceREAD MORE: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s extreme custody plan for children with unique arrangements

Less than six months after the viral moment took place, the radio broadcaster announced that the Mix102.3 show would air for the final time on December 12. A representative said: “In 2026, the station will launch a new live and local breakfast show as part of a refreshed whole station strategy focused on bolder content and bigger moments that really set the station apart.”

It comes just days after the news that Brisbane breakfast show Robin, Kip & Corey Oates had also been axed by the network. The rep also thanked the on-air team for their “hard work, creativity and commitment to the Brisbane audience” during their time in production.

According to an email seen by Mediaweek, the network ‘can’t reveal details just yet’ of what is to come for the broadcaster. Following the controversial moment with Keith, Max Burford, the radio show’s host, then remarked that he thought they were ‘vibing’ with the country music star and wondered if Keith now disliked them.

He added: “I thought we were vibing with Keith. Do we have beef with Keith Urban now?”

His co-host, Hayley Pearson, added that she thought their line of questioning would make Keith “hate” them: “He hates us. I knew that was going to happen.” Keith’s angry response to questions about his wife’s films came just after their 19th wedding anniversary.

The couple, who married in Sydney in 2006 after meeting at a Los Angeles event in 2005, have two daughters, aged 17 and 14. The divorce documents include a detailed parenting plan, with Kidman set to be the primary residential parent for 306 days of the year. Urban will have the remaining 59. The filing states both girls will remain in Nashville, where they’ve lived their whole lives.

“The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced,” the agreement reads.

“They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”

Reports claim that neither will seek child or spousal support, with the filing noting both earn over $100,000 per month. Assets, including royalties and copyrights, will be split equally, with each keeping what is in their name.

The parenting agreement was signed by Urban on August 29 and by Kidman on September 6 – suggesting the split had been planned well before it became public. Under Tennessee law, the divorce will take at least 90 days to be finalised.

This was Urban’s first marriage and Kidman’s second. She was previously married to Tom Cruise, with whom she has two older children. Just last year, at a Netflix premiere, Kidman told the Associated Press, “You’re heading for trouble if you consider yourselves the perfect couple. I’m not a believer in perfect.”

Earlier that year, Urban emotionally paid tribute to Kidman at the AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, saying, “Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months. Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”

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Beyond the Cuban diaspora, the genre known as reparto is overwhelmingly unknown. But on the streets of Havana and Hialeah, Miami, reparto is inescapable, pulsing from balconies and portable speakers on the beach.

Born in Cuba’s working-class neighborhoods — known colloquially as repartos — this hyperkinetic fusion of reggaetón, timba and Afro-Cuban rhythms has become the island’s score. In the mid-2000s, artists like Chocolate MC and Elvis Manuel built the genre’s sound on distorted synth stabs, shouted call-and-response hooks, and the distinct Cuban clave beat that makes your body move before your brain can even catch up.

It’s also become a platform for youth navigating scarcity, surveillance and dreams of escaping poverty. The lyrics, characteristically and unapologetically obscene, reflect the realities of life in marginalized communities. But alongside its rhythmic bravado, reparto’s explicit language often veers into the dehumanizing and misogynistic.

The music centers on women, but more often than not, as objects: the perra to conquer, the diabla to tame, the culo to catalog in explicit detail. And it’s no surprise: The genre’s blunt portrayal of women mirrors the machismo deeply embedded in everyday Cuban life.

It’s a refrain you’re bound to hear in any and every nightclub: “¿Donde están las mujeres?” But the next time 10 reparteros link up for a track, they probably won’t call a woman. Within a genre that revolves so heavily around their bodies, women’s voices still remain rare.

So, ¿dónde están las mujeres? Or, where are the women making reparto?

“Chocolate is the king, but who is the queen?” says Seidy Carrera, known artistically as Seidy La Niña. “There’s a space that needs to be filled with women. There’s no f—ing women!”

At the onset of reparto, early reparteras like Melissa and Claudia slipped brief female cameos into club anthems. More than a decade later, due to Cuba’s only recent, and still extremely limited, internet access, these artists and their collaborations have a seemingly untraceable digital footprint. Still, most playlists orbit male voices, and collaborations rarely invite women to the booth: “When reparteros come together on a track, they never call a woman,” she says.

Carrera, 32, was born in the reparto El Cotorro and raised in Miami since she was 6. The self-proclaimed queen of reparto, the paradox defines her career: She fights for space in a scene whose appeal lies in her raw neighborhood realism, but detractors question her authenticity as a gringa, or as they would call her, yuma.

“I feel resistance every day, every single day,” she says. In response, she reclaims the discriminatory language used against her; onstage, she chants “más perra que bonita,” flipping the curse-word from insult to empowerment.

“It’s empowering to say, I’m more perra than pretty. To me, being a perra is being a woman who’s exclusive, who makes her own money. In my case, … nobody opened the door for me, nobody gave me a hand.”

For Havana-based singer-composer Melanie Santiler, 24, the double standard hits her before she can even sing her first note: “I feel that I have to do twice as well. I have to put in double the thought, double the effort, double the talent, always having something more to say,” she says.

“It’s exhausting. It’s exhausting being a woman, having to get up and tell yourself, damn, I have to look pretty and put together. I spent my whole life in school with an onion bun because I didn’t want to do my hair,” Santiler says and laughs, messy bun flopping around her face.

Reaching almost 5 million YouTube views on her 2025 viral collab, “Todo se Supera” with Velito el Bufón, she’s broken into the reparto space as one of the genre’s most distinctive voices. Beside this rise, she’s faced a newfound pressure to dress a way she normally wouldn’t, a beauty standard her masculine counterparts don’t face.

Aliaisys Alvarez Hernández — better known as Ozunaje — says she doesn’t face the same criticism in the urban Cuban music scene, likely due to her sexuality and more masculine appearance. “Reparto is a genre for men, that’s how I see it,” she says. “I dress like a man, I practically live my life like a man, so what I write resembles what men are already saying. That also gave me an impulse, where I feel like more feminine artists, they have to work harder.”

A former rhythmic gymnast from La Habana, Hernández, 23, stumbled into music when friends recorded her singing a demo of “Cosas del Amor” in her living room. Someone uploaded the video, it went viral, and suddenly, she had a career. Since that start, Hernández refuses to only be compared with other reparteras.

Her goal has always been to be measured against men, since “that’s who people actually listen to.” Dressing in traditionally masculine clothing, paired with a deep, raspy delivery, helps her lyrics resonate with locals without the extra hurdle of hyper-sexualized expectations.

Hernández’s androgynous wardrobe and open queerness bring another layer of potential discrimination, but despite the rampant homophobia persistent in present-day Cuba, she doesn’t feel much resistance. “The worst word they throw at me is tortillera, but it doesn’t affect me,” she says, adding, “People like my style, they like that I dress like a guy. Everybody tells me, you have tremendo flow, I love your aguaje, so I haven’t faced any bullying. Never.”

Misogynistic currents in reparto mirror those in early reggaetón, reflecting the average street machismo. The genre’s marginal roots complicate blanket condemnations, since the same raunchy lyrics often encode critiques of class exclusion. Still, reaching bigger stages will require editing the most gratuitous slurs, if only to broaden the music’s export potential. At least, Ozunaje thinks so.

“Reparto came from people who were poor, who had nothing, who were desperate to get out. Nobody imagined it would get this big. Now it’s reaching the whole world, so the vocabulary has to evolve,” she says.

Santiler echoes this critique. “It’s become really repetitive. I think right now, everyone is talking about the same thing. It’s been really easy. Facilista,” she says, using the Spanish term for taking the easy way out. Santiler loves reparto’s swing, but calls most of it objectifying, pointing to Bad Bunny’s “Andrea” and “Neverita,” along with C. Tangana’s “El Madrileño,” as proof that urban music can expand beyond bedroom conquests.

“The street already says these things, and reparto just writes it. It’s an image of what’s happening. But I grew up with other types of music and other types of references, so I’d like to expand beyond that, to make something fresh.”

Santiler adds that the basis of reparto, both in her gratitude and her criticism, comes from pride.

“I love Cuba, I love my country. The current generation of Cuba doesn’t reject their identity — they’re doing the opposite. They want to create a new culture, to create a new movement, and they want the world to know Cuba again,” she says.

We could hear the band before we saw it: a group of retirement home residents with trumpets and drums waiting to greet us as we approached. Others using wheelchairs waved homemade flags. As we swarmed into the building and up the staircase, a bottleneck formed. I slowed down as a nurse put a stamp on my sweaty arm, then I jogged off down the corridor.

Running through a retirement home is just one of the many surreal moments that participants signing up for the Nîmes Urban Trail (NUT) get to experience on this 24km race around the city, which takes place each February. Not only does the route give you a whistlestop sightseeing tour, taking you past the town’s impressive Roman monuments and landmarks, it also grants you access to places that would normally be off limits to outsiders.

Earlier in the day, I’d cantered through the lobby and bar of a five-star hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, the hôtel de ville (city hall), a barracks, a chapel and an olive grove. I even ran through a nightclub – easily the most wholesome sweat I’d ever worked up there. The school classrooms were particularly fascinating: I moved to France aged 28 so I’d never seen the inside of a French primary school. The retro maps pasted to the walls were the same pink as French toilet paper.

Crowds had gathered to cheer us on at various points along the route, but nowhere was the welcome more enthusiastic than at the retirement homes where the residents and carers had spent weeks preparing for our arrival. As I left the building, I realised my cheeks were damp – but not from sweat. This was the first time a running race had moved me to tears.

Running tourism has been gaining momentum for years. A third of participants in the Paris Marathon aren’t French, and in the Berlin Marathon, roughly two-thirds are from outside Germany. A recent survey found that 18% of Britons were planning to travel abroad for sports this year, many to take part in marathons, half-marathons and triathlons. Urban trail running, however, has really taken off in France, and 98% of NUT runners in 2025 were French.

Europe’s first organised urban trail run was in my home city, Lyon, in 2008. I’ve participated in the Lyon Urban Trail for the last three years, pounding up and down stairs, helter-skeltering down the muddy slope of the city’s former ski piste, la Sarra, and jogging through the grounds of old forts. It’s enormous fun, and now there are more than 100 urban trail runs in France, but none quite like Nîmes.

At the starting line I checked out my fellow competitors. I was sandwiched between Queen Elizabeth II and a couple of gladiators. Many of the fancy dress outfits had a Nîmois theme. Nîmes became part of the Roman empire around the first-century BCE, when it was known as Colonia Nemausus, and alongside the emperors and gladiators, I saw crocodiles and palm trees. Crocodiles may be about as native to Nîmes as lions and unicorns are to Great Britain, but they’ve become the symbol of the city. In the 16th century, a Roman coin showing a crocodile and a palm frond, to depict Roman victory over Egypt, was unearthed here. Now the Nîmois crocodile appears on paving stones and fountains, and there are even four stuffed ones hanging from the ceiling of the hôtel de ville.

Although my running attire was relatively dull, the race promised to be anything but. The people running the full marathon had been released into the (urban) wild half an hour earlier; I, surrounded by gladiators and crocodiles, was about to tackle the shorter, but still hilly, 24km race. After us would come runners participating in the 16km and 10km races, and finally the 10km hikers (breaking into a trot was strictly forbidden), so there’s something for all fitness levels and abilities.

When he co-founded the NUT 10 years ago, Benoît Goiset was clear he wanted to create something more than just a calf-buster. He envisioned a run that broke down social barriers and got the whole city involved.

The route changes each year, with new and unusual sites being added. “After the pandemic we were seeing an epidemic of loneliness, so I added in the EHPADs [retirement homes],” said Goiset. “The five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants were [included] because so few people get to experience them, particularly people who live in Nîmes. I didn’t want anywhere to be off limits.”

At the end of the race, we burst into the Roman arena with a rush of pride, feeling like warriors, to be greeted by trestle tables loaded with snacks and beer and lemonade. This had been my first full day in Nîmes, and I’ve never had such a complete introduction to a city. Not only had I seen all the Roman sites – the arena, Tour Magne (watchtower), the Temple of Diana and even the Musée de la Romanité (we ran across the roof terrace) – I’d also had a glimpse of “the real Nîmes”, behind closed doors. I’d seen where children go to school, where soldiers train, and where some of the city’s older residents spend their later years. The tiered Jardins de la Fontaine, an 18th-century park full of stone fountains set over canals, was so beautiful that as soon as my legs had recovered that afternoon, I went back again.

At the risk of sounding like so many obnoxious yogis, who told me the reason I don’t like yoga is that I haven’t found the right class, if you don’t like running, perhaps you haven’t found the right race.

Registration is open for the next Nîmes Urban Trail, which takes place on 15 February 2026. Prices vary depending on distance, but the 24km trail run is €38pp. Appart’City is opposite the race start line, with double rooms from €105 (room only).

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s days as a Hollywood power couple are over — but the story of their marriage’s end goes on.

News of the Australian stars’ separation broke Monday afternoon, shocking pop culture enthusiasts and swiftly inspiring memes by AMC Theater devotees. But as netizens collectively processed the Oscar winner and the Grammy winner’s split on social media (some X users shot their shot, while others looked forward to Kidman’s next round of post-divorce roles), reports began to surface about their home life that suggest the breakup wasn’t a total surprise, especially for their inner circles.

The “Babygirl” star wasted no time once the split went public, officially filing to divorce Urban on Tuesday in Tennessee, citing “irreconcilable differences” in her complaint. Neither representatives for Kidman, 58, nor Urban, 57, immediately responded to requests for comment.

From Urban securing his own home in Nashville to Kidman applying for residency in Portugal, here are some hints that seem to have signaled a split was looming.

Keith’s home away from home

Partners in a loving relationship always need their space, but how much space is too much?

“Babygirl” star Kidman and “Blue Ain’t Your Color” crooner Urban had been living separately for months before news of their split broke, The Times confirmed. Though the pair shared a family home in Nashville, Urban moved out into his own home also in the country music hub, TMZ reported. Kidman’s divorce filing, reviewed by The Times, shows different mailing addresses for the estranged spouses.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, seen at the 77th Golden Globe Awards in 2020, share two teenage daughters.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Marriage trouble between the Australian stars “really hasn’t been a secret,” a source told People. The source also confirmed that the pair had been “living separately for a while now.”

“Their lives were moving in different directions,” the source added, “and once he quietly set up his own place, it felt like the writing was on the wall.”

One-sided feelings?

Though Kidman made their separation official by filing for divorce, the “Moulin Rouge!” star reportedly didn’t want to split and “has been fighting to save the marriage.” She has also been caring for their daughters Sunday, 17, and Faith, 14, since Urban hit the road for his High and Alive world tour in May.

Over the course of their marriage, the “Happy Feet” and “Big Little Lies” star often flaunted her relationship on social media, sharing glamour shots from their red carpet outings and celebrating her husband’s win at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. In June she celebrated 19 years of marriage to Urban on social media, sharing a black-and-white photo of them in a dressing room. “Happy Anniversary Baby,” she captioned the tender Instagram photo. However, the singer was notably absent from Kidman’s August Instagram post capturing “summer memories.” Maybe he was just on tour?

Urban, who did not post an anniversary photo to his grid, has mainly used his Instagram to promote his recent musical endeavors. In May, he also shared photos of himself and Kidman celebrating his ACM Awards win. That was the last post featuring his actor wife.

Keith’s new lyrics — and alleged new flame

As reports of the split surfaced this week, so did speculation and theories about what caused the breakup.

Sources told TMZ that the “Somebody Like You” singer, who spoke publicly in the past about marital tensions, allegedly found romance with another woman amid the separation. “Let’s just say, Nicole doesn’t dispute that, but she’s still shocked over it,” sources told the outlet.

Shortly after rumors of an alleged new flame spread, internet sleuths were quick to point out that Urban had changed the lyrics to one of his songs to honor a band mate during his tour. In “The Fighter,” Urban sings about being a stronger, better partner for the person of his desire — that was Kidman, he made very clear during a 2017 interview with Billboard. In 2016, Kidman and Urban released a giddy music video of themselves singing to the duet.

“When they’re tryna get to you, baby, I’ll be the fighter,” Urban’s original lyrics say.

But during a concert preceding the breakup news, Urban can be heard singing: “When they try to get you, Maggie I’ll be your guitar player,” a nod to fellow musician Maggie Baugh, who has been on the road with him for months. In their previous performance of the song, Urban could be heard reciting the original lyrics.

Baugh shared video of Urban’s lyric change to her Instagram, writing in the caption, “Did he just say that👀.” This wasn’t the first time Urban changed his “The Fighter” lyrics to reflect who was sharing the stage with him. When he and country music star Carrie Underwood performed the song at the 2017 CMT Music Awards, he sang, “When they get to you, Carrie Underwood, I’ll be your fighter.” So … romantic gesture or just some live music flair?

Urban’s rep did not immediately respond to an inquiry about his alleged new relationship.

Nicole’s new lease on life overseas

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2022.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

As Urban took his music on the road earlier this summer, Kidman was reportedly seeking to make a big move across the Atlantic.

Several outlets reported in late July that the “Eyes Wide Shut” star had applied to be a resident of Portugal, and that Urban’s name was not listed on the application. A source clarified to E! that Urban was absent from his appointment due to his tour, adding that “it’s mandatory for applicants to be physically present in order to apply for the visa.” At the time, Urban was set to submit his application at a later date, the source said. That was months ago, and the U.S. leg of Urban’s tour continues through October. He will play four shows overseas — Portugal is nowhere on the lineup — before returning stateside.

The two own several homes across the U.S. as well as luxurious abodes in Europe and Australia. Among those homes is a “plush” spot in Lisbon, the New York Post reported in July. A source told the outlet at the time that the pair’s “primary residence will continue to be in Nashville.”

Neither Kidman nor Urban have spoken publicly about their separation. In the past, however, their deep and mutual love for each other was the stuff of romance films: He once called her the “one I was searching for my whole life,” and she said “he was the love of my life.”

“Real love happens not when everything is going well but when things are going badly,” Kidman told People in a 2019 cover story. “It’s when human beings come together, if they’re going to, in a far deeper way. You’re then having to work together, and the ‘together’ is what it’s about.”

Heartbreak doesn’t feel so good in a place like this. Longtime Hollywood power couple Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have gone their separate ways, according to several reports.

The Oscar-winning actor and the country music star separated and have been living “apart since the beginning of the summer,” TMZ reported Monday. People also confirmed the stars’ split, with a source saying that that Kidman “has been fighting to save the marriage.”

Representatives for Kidman, 58, and Urban, 57, did not respond immediately Monday to requests for comment.

Beloved AMC Theatres spokesperson Kidman and Grammy winner Urban tied the knot in June 2006 and share two teenage daughters who have been under the actor’s care “since Keith has been gone,” TMZ reported. The “Blue Ain’t Your Color” musician has been on the road for his High and Alive world tour, which launched in May. After the American leg of the tour concludes in Nashville in October, he will bring his music overseas beginning March 2026.

Kidman celebrated 19 years of marriage to Urban on social media in June, sharing a black-and-white photo of them backstage. “Happy Anniversary Baby,” she captioned the tender Instagram photo. Urban, who did not post an anniversary photo to the grid, has mainly used his Instagram to promote his musical endeavors in recent months. In May, he shared photos of him and Kidman celebrating his win at the American Country Music Awards.

The Australian stars married in an intimate ceremony in Sydney. Kidman was previously married to “Mission: Impossible” action star Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. Kidman is Urban’s first wife.

It’s currently unclear whether the spouses will file for divorce.