Don't be fooled by Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman's seemingly picture-perfect marriage. The couple is actually fame-hungry and mean, according to the country singer's former friend and collaborator, Vernon Rust. The songwriter is going on the attack — and Nicole is subtly firing back at the allegations.

Life & Style took a look inside Vernon's new tell-all book, Fake News, in which he claims the Oscar-winning actress and crooner are all about publicity. Nicole and Keith would, "attend a 'pond draining' if a red carpet and a photographer were gonna show up," he writes.

Referring to Nicole, 50, as "what's her face" and "Tom Cruise's ex-problem" throughout the book, Vernon claims, "Those two ninnies wouldn't know benevolence or spirituality if it came up and bit 'em in the ass." He also alleges that Keith's drug problem was worse than anyone knew.

"We lived in the studio," he added of their $250,000 cocaine habit. "We did a lot of coke and stayed up for days… We were so reliably awesome in music that the drugs were not only tolerated but encouraged."

However, Nicole, who shares daughters Sunday, 9, and Faith, 6, with Keith, 49, defended their 11-year marriage. In a recent interview with Vogue, she credited Keith for helping her cope with the death of her father in 2014. "He's better at dealing with it," she said. "He'll be like, 'OK, but now let's just get on with it.' Which is why there's such a great balance in our relationship."

She continued, "Keith and I always say we are so lucky to have each other." Amid the drama, Nicole has been traveling around the U.S. on tour with her hubby and their children. "We have fun," she said. We have a feeling Vernon is just trying to sell some books…