Billie Jo Jones, a contestant on Keith Urban’s reality show The Road, says the country star kept his personal struggles private while filming amid his split from Nicole Kidman.
The Daily Mail reported Jones’s comments about working with Urban during the show’s production.
“You wouldn’t even know that he was going through anything because he definitely pushed personal stuff aside and was business professional the entire time, which is what a true artist should be and should be doing,” Jones told the outlet.
The Road follows 12 country musicians as they tour with Urban. The show premiered while Urban and Kidman were dealing with their separation.
Jones called working with the 57-year-old musician “a dream come true.”
“He is one of those people that really wants the best for you and really pushes you to be your best self,” the 34-year-old contestant said.
Urban Discusses Tour Life
During the series premiere on October 19, Urban opened up about being away from his family. He shares two daughters with Kidman: Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14.
Urban described touring as “a calling.”
“When you wake up on a tour bus at 3:30 a.m. and you’re sick as a dog, you’re in the middle of nowhere and you’ve got to play your fifth show later that night, and you haven’t slept, and you miss your friends, and you’re missing your family, and you’re completely lonely and miserable and sick – and you say to yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ The only answer can be: Because this is what I’m born to do.”
Jones related to Urban’s experience. She performs “around 125 to 140 shows a year” away from her own children.
“It’s something that you’ve got to want it more than anything in the world to put yourself through it because it is hard,” she said. “It’s time away from home, away from my kiddos, but it’s definitely worth it in the end because I know God didn’t give me this voice to just sit at home with – he gave it to me to go and share with others.”
The Separation Details
Urban and Kidman separated over the summer after 19 years of marriage.
The Babygirl star filed for divorce on September 30. Court documents cite irreconcilable differences and list the separation date as the time of filing.
Kidman requested primary residential custody of their daughters in the divorce filing.
A source told PEOPLE that the Practical Magic 2 star “has a great attitude and feels very grateful for her life.”
The New Zealand-born musician hasn’t publicly commented on the separation. Jones’s observations suggest Urban maintained his professional focus despite the personal challenges during filming.
