But it was Nicole's absence from Keith's life that caused him to slip back into his substance abuse. He says, "My wife was away. She hadn't really been away before, and it came as a shock to me to be alone and not prepared for it; alone with this thing that I had, this big monkey on my back."

Urban took his time in rehab seriously, putting all his other obligations on the back burner so that he could get better. He told The Tennessean, "A tour? One record? That is such a blip on the radar. When I went to Betty Ford, I didn't care if the whole record got scrapped. It was just time to take care of my life. I'm never going to look back and think, 'I wish I'd toured for one more week in July.' That doesn't make any sense. I'm trying to find a quality of life, and that comes with trade-offs and sacrifices and balance."

Looking back on his experience at Betty Ford, Keith says, "That real cleansing and surrendering everything is what was really needed for me. I realized, 'This is the crossroads of my life. If I want a life, this is the time to take charge.'…It sounds strange, but I'm glad it happened. There's no doubt that what it's done for our marriage has been truly divine. It has brought my wife and me to a place that may never have happened for us."