Nicole Kidman had to pause filming Babygirl after ‘hating’ sex scenes

Nicole Kidman had to pause filming erotic movie, Babygirl, after becoming ‘frustrated’ shooting the numerous steamy scenes and no longer being able to stand being touched.

The actress, 58, made headlines last year with her starring turn in the raunchy drama, but confessed to ‘hating’ having to film so many sex scenes and struggling to cope.

And her admission that she ‘didn’t care if I am never touched again in my life’, has been viewed in a new light, after she filed for divorce from husband Keith Urban on Tuesday.

Babygirl saw Nicole play a high-powered married company boss who falls for a kinky young intern, played by Harris Dickinson, 29.

And while her performance won rave reviews, the Oscar winner confessed that shooting the steamy project caused her to suffer ‘burnout’.

Speaking to The Sun last October, she revealed: ‘There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, “Don’t touch me”.

‘There were times when we were shooting where I was like, “I don’t want to orgasm any more. Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it”.’

Nicole went on: ‘It was so present all the time for me that it was almost like a burnout.’ 

Her candid comments have been reappraised following her separation from musician  Keith, 57, after 19 years of marriage.

It has been claimed that their busy work schedules and a lack of intimacy was to blame for the breakup, though Nicole is said to have been ‘blindsided’ when Keith asked for a divorce.

Sources said: ‘The intimacy isn’t there, they are just going through the motions [of being married]. If this separation gets them back together, that would be amazing, but Keith had to call her out that he isn’t happy.

‘She was blindsided, but we shall see how things go during the holiday season and his upcoming birthday [next month]. They have some work to do.’

And there were definite signs of a strain in the marriage following Nicole’s raciest role yet in Babygirl.

While she received critical acclaim for the role, her husband did not attend any of the premieres with her – instead remaining in Australia for work. 

The film also had another meaning for Keith – who used to affectionately call the Moulin Rouge star ‘babygirl’ before she took on the racy role. 

Nicole revealed last year: ‘He actually has “babygirl” tattooed on the back of his neck. Keith’s not allowed to call anyone else babygirl. 

‘But now, because of the film, it’s taken on a different meaning. So he’s like, “No, I still have total rights over babygirl!”‘

It was also reported last year that Keith had to take a step back from seeing her as his wife while she was filming racy scenes with other men. 

A source told Daily Mail: ‘He removes himself from seeing her as his wife and supports her and enjoys the work.’

The insider added: ‘When Keith is watching her work, he sees it as her art. She is playing characters – she isn’t playing Nicole Kidman. Keith isn’t wincing during these types of scenes, he knows it is just part of the story.’

However, in July, Keith abruptly ended an interview when questioned about his Nicole’s recent sex scenes –  indicating he could have been struggling to deal with that aspect of her career.

The singer had called into the Mix102.3 Adelaide radio show Hayley & Max in the Morning in Australia to promote a series of upcoming shows.

The interview began innocuously enough with Keith saying he always enjoyed playing in Adelaide, yet things quickly got uncomfortable when the singer took part in a radio game titled Wall of Truth.

He was quizzed about his wife appearing in ‘love scenes’ causing him to abruptly quit the interviews he was doing via Zoom.

Host Max Burford asked: ‘What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron, having these beautiful love scenes?’

But, Keith did not reply and it was revealed he had left the Zoom call, with a programme producer heard explaining: ‘I think his team hung up on us because they didn’t want us to ask that question’.

But an insider later insisted that Keith had nothing to do with the disconnection and that he ‘did not hang up, period.’

They added: ‘He doesn’t host his Zoom interviews. This is a complete nothingburger.’

Nicole and Keith, who are parents to daughters Sunday, 17, and Faith, 14, have spent much time apart in recent months, with Keith kickstarting his tour in May. 

As he was travelling up and down the States, Nicole and their daughters had been staying in Nashville, where the couple own a $4million compound. 

TMZ reported Monday that Keith has ‘acquired his own residence in Nashville and has moved out of their family home.’ 

And earlier this month, it emerged that Nicole was spending a small fortune each month to live in a stately London home away from Keith. 

The actress was in England to film the Practical Magic sequel, and was residing at a luxurious Hampstead mansion once owned by pop star Boy George.

While the London move was for work, it certainly raised eyebrows back in Nicole’s native Australia.

An insider told local magazine Woman’s Day earlier this month: ‘They do make an effort to speak every day when they’re apart, but it is shocking how much time they’ve spent apart since Nicole’s mother died last September. It’s like they both went their separate ways.’

And it’s been reported that their close friends knew the split was ‘inevitable’, having known the couple were living separate lives ‘for a while’.

A source told People: ‘It really hasn’t been a secret that they’ve been living separately for a while now. People close to Keith felt like the split was kind of inevitable.’