Actress Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban got married last Sunday. In reporting on the wedding, the media had several features on the couple's pre-nuptial agreement, as if that were something unusual or a bad omen.
It's not, on either account. As I have said several times, a pre-nuptial agreement is very common, even among couples who don't include an A-List Hollywood player. It's common sense, given the fact that many people, like Nicole, enter a second relationship with considerable personal property - property, which for a variety of sound financial reasons, should be kept away from the marital estate.
Terms of the agreement are apparently in dispute (Ms. Kidman's publicist is contesting the accuracy of the reports.) But it appears that Ms. Kidman - who the papers say is worth $150 million - offers her new husband a financial incentive for staying married to her, agreeing to a high- six-figure sum for every year they remain married. But Nicole can leave the marriage without paying a cent should Keith uses illegal narcotics or drinks excessively.
To me, this agreement seems a very wise precaution for a woman who is marrying an ex-cocaine addict - and who was once married to someone as frivolous as Tom Cruise.
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