Keith Urban goes public about his rehabilitation

Country singer Keith Urban has issued his first public remarks about his recent three-month stay in rehab in a video message to fans posted Monday on his website, www.keithurban.net.

Without going into detail about the nature of his recovery relapse, the New Zealand singer and songwriter elaborates for several minutes on how what had been expected to be a 30-day stay at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs turned into triple that length of time.

“There was no big, cataclysmic event that happened right before I went in,” Urban, 40, says in the video, taped Thursday. “What it was, was a lot of small things that were happening in my life ... that were telling me very loud and clear that I was a long way from my program of recovery, and they were making my life unmanageable.”

He adds that “the reason why it was so long, too, was just what I was learning as I stayed in there. That first 30 days I learned what they say in there, abstinence is the ticket into the movie; it’s not the movie. So, learning about abstinence was one thing, but then there was all this other area of my life to start learning about. So, 30 days became 60, 60 days became 90....”

He refers twice to his wife, Nicole Kidman, without naming her, and says that she “stayed extraordinarily strong and loving” during his rehab stay. He also tells fans that “I’m looking forward to coming to your town to see all you guys, and thank you personally for the support I’ve gotten.”

He gave no details about concert dates. A statement issued last week indicated that he would ease back into touring with some shows in the U.S. and Canada in June, and a spokesman said Monday that specifics about U.S. performances could be announced by next week.

randy.lewis@latimes.com