Nicole Kidman’s Younger Co-Star’s Ex-Wife Reportedly ‘Extremely Shocked’ by Dating Rumors After Viewing the Actress ‘Like a Sister’
Ever since Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban announced their separation, there has been interest in Kidman’s future love life. Had she moved on? Was she dating someone new? And questions, of course, intensified after the divorce was finalized in January.
The rumor mill included many possibilities, including some of Kidman’s exes, like Lenny Kravitz. But recently, rumors have centered on another familiar face: Scarpetta co-star, Simon Baker. Baker, better known for the TV show The Mentalist, is a longtime friend of Kidman, who is the godmother to Baker’s son with his ex-wife, Rebecca Rigg. The duo showed up at the premiere of the show in New York holding hands, and the rest was history.
And now New Idea is reporting that Baker’s ex, Rebecca Rigg, who is very close to Kidman, is a bit confused by the situation. “She loves Nicole like a sister, they’ve been through so much together over the years so it’s extremely shocking for her to get her head round this new dynamic,” a source told New Idea.
Reportedly, she doesn’t even know exactly what’s going on. “Rebecca is totally in the dark about Nicole and Simon’s current status,” the source added.
“A lot of their mutual friends assume their hand-holding was a cheesy stunt for the show. But the way they’re evading questions about their status and then spending all this cosy time together is giving a lot more validity to the notion that they have turned romantic,” the source went on.
There’s nothing romantic between Baker and Rigg at this point, but sources indicate it’s still uncomfortable. “Rebecca and Simon split many years ago. They’re still co-raising their kids and pride themselves on having a totally transparent relationship.” Then, there’s Rigg’s closeness with Kidman. “For Nicole to act all coy is really breaking the girl code. A lot of Rebecca’s friends are saying it’s pretty insensitive on her part.”
All of this comes after The Sun reported that Kidman and Baker’s “closeness is definitely the talk of the town right now,” with a source adding that they are “incredible together on screen and when you see them together in real life, that chemistry clearly wasn’t faked.”
However, Rob Shuter says the duo is not dating. “They’ve been famous way too long not to know exactly what that would do,” one insider told the gossip columnist. “You don’t hold hands on a red carpet unless you want people talking.”
“If this were real, they’d be hiding it — not putting it on display,” the source added.
“This was deliberate.” It is, after all, good publicity for their show. “They’re enjoying it,” the insider revealed. “It’s harmless, it’s fun, and it keeps them in the headlines.”
But if it were, wouldn’t Rigg know? According to Shuter, even Kidman’s kids know. “Her kids are in on the joke,” the source said. “Everyone around her knows this isn’t some big love story.”
“This is two pros playing the publicity game,” the insider added. “And playing it very well.”
