Keith Urban is reminding everyone that he got it right when it comes to his longtime love for Nicole Kidman.

During the country crooner’s emotional speech honoring his wife at the star-studded 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala on Saturday, April 27, Urban recalled why he was too “nervous” to make a move after they first met.

“I was trying to play it cool, but inside I felt like I’d snuck into the royal ball simply because Nic had such a truly otherworldly aura about her,” said Urban, 56, remembering when he met Kidman, also 56, in January 2005 at a G’Day LA event in California.

“I felt a bit like I was meeting a real-life princess,” Urban added. “And despite all of that, I did manage to get her phone number on a tiny piece of paper.”

Urban carried her number in his pocket for a week, occasionally pulling it out to try to muster enough courage to call her. 

“I was scared. I was nervous to call her,” he continued during his speech at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. “I did, as you probably figured out, pluck up the courage to finally call her.”

The call went well, with the once-nervous Urban recalling how “this mystic creature” turned out to be “just a wide-eyed, giddy girl from the Sydney suburbs” who is “utterly Aussie through and through,” even though she was born in Honolulu. 

The AFI tribute to Kidman, which also marked the first public red carpet event for her and Urban’s teenage daughters, included other speeches from celebrity friends such as Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts and Zac Efron.

“Everyone’s speaking here tonight is going to talk about Nic’s talent, and I could easily do that myself,” Urban said. “I mean, she truly is one of the greats, as Russell Crowe said, and tonight proves that I’m not just a biased husband.” 

The proud husband went on to discuss how Kidman loved him even when he went to rehab for substance abuse shortly after they got married. 

“I do want to take an opportunity to talk about Nic’s heart and her spirit. We got married in June, 2006 and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens,” Urban admitted. “And I went into the Betty Ford Center for three months. Four months into a marriage I’m in rehab for three months. I had no idea what was going to happen to us.”

The story brought Kidman to tears as she listened in the audience, alongside her Big Little Lies costars — Meryl Streep and Witherspoon — and Morgan Freeman, who worked with her on Lioness.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“And if you want to see what love in action really looks like, give that a whirl,” he said. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own. And she chose love. And here we are tonight, 18 years later.”

Not long after rehab, Urban released a song about Kidman called “Got It Right This Time,” featuring the heartfelt lyrics, “She believes in me like I’ve been trying to do, I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. Ever since she came into my life, I’ve been a better man.”