Keith Urban Honors Wife Nicole Kidman for Her Support amid Past 'Addictions' and Rehab: 'She Chose Love'

Keith Urban is celebrating his wife Nicole Kidman.

The country star, 56, gave a touching speech in honor of Kidman, 56, at the recent 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala as he credited the actress for her love and support — particularly during the early days of their marriage amid his addiction recovery.

“We got married in June 2006 and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions … that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens,” Urban shared in his speech at the Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in April, per a video of the event posted on Tuesday, June 18.

“Four months into a marriage, I'm in rehab for three months. I had no idea what was going to happen to us … and if you want to see what love in action really looks like, give that a whirl,” he continued. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I'm sure even some of her own and she chose love. And here we are tonight, 18 years later.”

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Honoree Kidman appeared emotional at Urban’s speech, wiping away tears in the audience while joined by their two daughters, 15-year-old Sunday and 13-year-old Faith, as her husband continued to give her praise.

“That’s the thing about Nic … she loves life. I've actually never met anyone who has such a passion for being alive. She knows the importance of expressing feelings, as well,” the four-time Grammy winner shared. 

“I wasn't raised like this at all, so our girls are very lucky to be learning from you, baby,” Urban continued, referring to their daughters, before adding, “I’m learning to."

He concluded his speech about Kidman by noting two decades of them being in love, saying, “I know tonight's all about her body of work so far … but next year, we'll be 20 years that I've been madly in love with you."

"Congratulations, baby girl. I love you," he said.

Kidman was supported by Urban and their daughters at the gala, where she received the lifetime achievement honor, on April 27.

Speaking to PEOPLE of her family joining her at the ceremony, the Oscar winner said, "They are here to support me, and they're very, very supportive and incredibly loving.”

Kidman revealed at the event that her “whole family” from Australia had flown in especially to see her milestone achievement. 

“It's beautiful to have a family to be able to go and want to share this with you, because you don't get to do that ... so the idea of being able to have your family come to something like this is really exciting,” she added.