Renewed speculation that Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and her country music singing beau Keith Urban will soon marry set Australian hearts aflutter on Tuesday.
Rumours of a June wedding in the American city of Nashville came hard on the heels of a story in London's The Sun that arrangements for a small private ceremony in Sydney last weekend had been scuttled when news of the impending nuptials leaked out.
"She hated the way her wedding had become a bit of a media circus in Australia," an unnamed source claiming to be a Kidman confidante told Britain's biggest-selling tabloid.
It also reported that the 38-year-old Australian actress and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, 43, had disagreed over their children's involvement in the wedding.
The paper said Kidman had recently "rediscovered her Catholic faith and wanted Isabella, 12, and Connor, 10, at her side."
Kidman and Cruise, a Scientologist, split in 2001 after a decade of marriage. Cruise is now partnered with fellow actor Katie Holmes, who is expecting their child.
Urban, who was born in New Zealand and grew up there and in Australia, has become one of Nashville's biggest stars. He and Kidman, both based in the United States, have been constant companions for the past few months.
They spent Christmas together with both sets of parents in Nashville. Kidman attended the Grammy Awards in February when Urban won the Best Country Vocal Performance award for his ballad You'll Think of Me. The couple were also together at last week's Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, where Kidman was a presenter.
There was no comment from Kidman's Sydney-based publicist about the rumours. - Sapa-dpa