Kidman's rep confirmed that the divorce "was not her decision." In fact, it broke her completely and was a shock to her system.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were the sweethearts of Hollywood. They seemingly had one of the most solid marriages in the industry but everything changed when Cruise announced that the two were separating. It not only shocked their fans but Kidman as well because she thought they were happy together. He was reportedly mesmerized by the then 22-year-old Australian actress after watching her in Dead Calm and decided to cast her as the love interest in Days of Thunder.
When Cruise announced their divorce in 2001, Kidman was floored because it spelled an end to their ten-year marriage. She admitted about her shock while talking to DuJour, and revealed that in December 2000, they had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. "I thought our life together was perfect," she said. But just two months later came the announcement without any explanation other than a vague statement from Cruise, “Nic knows why.”
Recently in an interview with The New York Times, she revealed that they were "happily married" during the filming of Eyes Wide Shut. According to her representative, she had no idea about the divorce. In a statement to The Daily Mail, the rep said, "This divorce was not her decision. Tom made the move. Nicole is in a state of shock," as reported by The Mirror.
Kidman's friends disclosed that the Misson Impossible actor who filed his petition on the grounds of "irreconcilable differences" blindsided his wife by demanding a divorce. Kidman begged Cruise not to go ahead with the divorce but he was too adamant. The divorce papers stated that she "protested [Cruise's] intention to dissolve their marriage and urged him not to leave but to enter marriage counseling with her, or take other steps to address whatever problems may have existed in their marriage... Tom said his decision was final and he departed the parties' home."
Even though Cruise claimed that their marriage was over in December 2000, the Bewitched actress insisted that they were still intimate during that time which resulted in a pregnancy that she tragically lost.
In an interview with Marie Claire in 2007, she revealed that she suffered a miscarriage during the time the couple was going through the divorce. "I had a miscarriage at the end of my marriage."
She also opened up about how she wanted to start a family with Cruise from the time she married him but their attempts failed one after the other. This was the reason they adopted daughter Isabella in 1993 and son Connor in 1995. She confessed she had endured an ectopic pregnancy at the beginning of their marriage that was "incredibly traumatic" for her.
The Daily Mail reported the actress talking about her divorce at the Women in the World Summit (London) in 2016 and its effects on her career. She said, "Out of my divorce came work that was applauded so that was an interesting thing for me." Speaking about the way she poured all her energy into her work, she said, "I was running from my life at that time, I wasn’t able to handle the reality of it and as an actor you have this wonderful thing where you can go and get lost in somebody else’s life."
She further continued by saying that even though she was flourishing in her career, she felt the "loneliest" during that time. She won an Oscar for the lead actress in The Hours but it was one of her darkest hours personally. "[The divorce] culminated in winning an Oscar and that caused an epiphany which was, 'This isn’t the answer.' I was holding a gold statue and I was the loneliest I’d ever been," she said.
Cruise's publicist Pat Kingsley in response to Kidman's divorce papers said at that time, "Life moves on and Tom is getting on with his own future," and looks like the actress did the same as well.
She found love again with Australian-born country music star Keith Urban. The couple, both 53 years old, tied the knot in 2006 and are parents to two daughters, Sunday Rose, 12, and Faith Margaret, 9, according to Closer Weekly.
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References:
https://dujour.com/news/becoming-nicole-kidman/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/nicole-kidman-begged-tom-cruise-22799706
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/05/magazine/nicole-kidman-interview.html
https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/celebrity-news/nicole-kidman-1-202842
https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/nicole-kidman-and-keith-urban-kids-meet-the-couples-2-children/