Nicole Kidman has spoken openly about how she is feeling following her split from her husband of 19 years Keith Urban.

The Australian actress, 59, reflected on how she has approached this 'new chapter' of being single as she looks to the future with an 'open heart'.

Nicole said she takes a 'feelings-centred' approach to decisions and leads with her heart, admitting she suspects people will think she is 'more measured'.

Speaking to British Vogue about her love life, she said: 'I can still approach things intellectually. But my desire is not to be ruled by my head, I've always wanted to live a well-examined life, so what does that entail? 

'Trying things, making mistakes, failing, getting back up, moving on, embracing love, staying open, keeping the heart open and the possibilities.'

However, Nicole went on to say that she has had to adapt because how her life has panned out hasn't how she expected it to.

She said: 'But at the same time I'm like, "OK, I didn't expect this. I had a different view of what my life was going to be, but this is what it is now." You make all these plans and you have all these ideas of what it's all going to be like and then it's…not. You have to adjust. You adapt. The future, it's completely unknown to me right now.'

Her response when asked if it was scary too: 'There was a point where I was very fearful and deeply vulnerable, which is exposing.

'And then at the same time I'm going, "Well, I can either really not confront it and just curl up, or I can just go forward with an enormous amount of hope".'

Nicole and Keith have two daughters, Sunday, 18, and Faith, 15. She also adopted Isabella, 34, and Connor, 31, with her ex-husband Tom Cruise. 

Sharing her gratitude for her family, she said: 'It's an extraordinary purpose. Everything else is not important. These kids now, that's what we drop everything for.'

Detailing what her kids are up to, Nicole said: '[Sunday] is so her own creature. She has such a strong sense of identity and what she loves. She's very European in her style. She's very visual. She takes photographs and she makes films and she's highly creative with that. 

'And then the little one, even though she's not little, just did the Vogue School and loved it. She has what I call the "Bessette" style. They're both very different though they look very similar.'

Speaking of looking forward with an open heart, Nicole was recently pictured grinning alongside private equity mogul Michael Reinstein in his £250,000 Ferrari.

Michael, 54, collected Nicole after she flew from New York to Los Angeles in the latest sighting of the pair who were first linked romantically last month.

They were first seen together on a balcony at the exclusive Belmond Splendido hotel in Portofino, Italy. 

Michael, from Los Angeles, is the founder and chairman of 13-year-old private equity firm Regent, based in Beverly Hills.

Nicole and Keith were said to have been living separately since last summer, before their split was reported in September. 

She filed for divorce the following day, September 30, citing irreconcilable differences.

It was finalised on January 6 this year when they reached a settlement agreement, with Nicole reportedly named primary parent to their two daughters.

A source close to Nicole told the Daily Mail: 'After everything she went through with Keith, she deserves to find happiness.

'She never thought her marriage wouldn't work out, and she tried as best as she could to keep her family intact. Her daughters are her best friends, and she seems really content in her life.'

See the full feature in the September issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday, August 20