At first I thought that Nicole Kidman must have slipped when she said in a recent interview that she never says she’s happy in her marriage “because interviews are done in advance and you never know where something’s going.” She hinted that she hides a lot, saying that “People’s lives together are complicated and beautiful and that’s what they should stay. They’re very quiet. Complicatedly quiet.”

That’s a weird way of answering a simple question if you’re happy. If you’re happy in your relationship, or a good enough fibber, you might say “Yes, we’re enjoying the first year of our marriage despite some minor setbacks, which managed to bring us closer.” There, now rub your hands together and change the subject to your latest project.

So while I initially thought that Kidman revealed more than intended in that statement, it sounds like she’s trying to prepare the public for something that she suspects might happen but isn’t decided yet. Of course she quickly backtracked afterwards, sounding like a publicist, so it’s hard to tell what her intentions are:

Asked in the November issue of Interview magazine if she is happy with husband Keith Urban, Kidman replies, “I don’t ever say that. Partly because interviews are done in advance and you never know where something’s going. People’s lives together are complicated and beautiful and that’s what they should stay. They’re very quiet. Complicatedly quiet. They don’t need to be broadcast.”

She goes on to clarify: “My husband and I are committed to each other and deeply in love. That’s how I would put it. We’re working on staying in that place, and hopefully we will for the rest of our lives.”

[From People.com]

In the interview in which Kidman made that statement she was talking to the author of The Hours, Michael Cunningham. It’s possible they had a better rapport than is typical or that they were being particularly analytical in the conversation and she was caught off guard.

Star Magazine has a story this week about how Nicole Kidman is pissing off the crew on the set of the film she’s currently working on, Australia. Star is known for its diva stories, so this is most likely exaggerated, but Kidman is said to act dismissive and rude to people, to never be satisfied with her hair and makeup, and to be super picky about the food she eats.

According to one insider, they all refer to Nicole as “Prima Donna” behind her back because of the alarmingly dismissive way she treats everyone. Everyone, that is, except her husband, country singer Keith Urban.

“Her behavior is seriously Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” says the insider. “When Keith’s on the set, Nicole is nice and as sweet as pie. But once he leaves, she becomes angry and yells at the crew when she doesn’t get what she wants or if they’re running behind…”

On one memorable occasion, she felt the shrimp and risotto prepared for her was not as hot as it should be – and she made her thoughts very clear!”

“She was yelling at the craft services people, asking them how she could be expected to eat this food at this temperature…”

Nicole also takes issue with the way the makeup artists make her look. Most of the time, she hates it, says the insider. “She has them redo it constantly. She’ll hold up production because she’ll want her makeup done over and over again.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 29, 2007]

But Nicole changes a lot when Keith is around, the article claims. She is said to act super nice, giggling and holding hands with him when he shows up on set. “People wonder if Keith has any idea how miserable she can really be,” the source says. Maybe they’re both miserable in the relationship and that’s why Nicole is so grumpy all the time, trying to make up for it by being super nice to Keith. She might realize that it’s not working no matter how hard she tries, and she’s providing some vague but revealing quotes for the press to use in the event of their breakup.

Nicole Kidman is shown on 10/7/07 at the NY Film Festival premiere of Margot at the Wedding, thanks to PRPhotos.