Nicole Kidman Reveals How She Really Feels About Tom Cruise Today
Nicole Kidman calls her marriage to Tom Cruise beautiful, crediting his support and their two children — and leaving the rest unsaid — in a candid 2016 sit-down on PEOPLE’s The Jess Cagle Interview.
Old Nicole Kidman quotes about Tom Cruise are making the rounds again, and they cover the whole arc: the head-spinning meet-cute, the high-gloss marriage, and the fallout that bled into her biggest professional win. It is a lot, and some of it might surprise you if you only know the tabloid version.
The Days of Thunder spark
Kidman has said one of the biggest sliding-door moments of her career was walking into her audition for Days of Thunder. Picture this: she is brand-new in town, nerves frayed, and Tom Cruise rolls up in what she thinks was a Porsche. Jaw, meet floor. Inside the room? Tony Scott, Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Robert Towne. She figured she did not stand a chance. They hired her.
That movie is where the romance started. Things moved fast. They got married in 1990, and the relationship instantly lived under a spotlight you could probably see from space. They adopted two kids together, Isabella and Connor, and for a long time it looked like the studio-approved version of a Hollywood love story.
How she remembers it, in her own words
In a 2016 sit-down on PEOPLE's The Jess Cagle Interview, Kidman made a point to give Cruise credit for how he showed up during those years.
'Tom really supported me, and I am so grateful to him for that... It was a beautiful marriage and all of those things that came out of it. Two beautiful children. The rest is history.'
Clips of that chat have been resurfacing on social media again this week, because of course they are.
The split that overshadowed Oscar night
The story did not stay glossy. After 11 years together, Cruise filed for divorce in 2001, citing irreconcilable differences. Kidman has been very open about how hard that period hit her. In Dave Karger's book '50 Oscar Nights', she explains that when she won Best Actress for The Hours in 2003, the personal stuff was so raw she could not enjoy it. She got pushed into going to the Vanity Fair party, walked in clutching the statuette, felt overwhelmed and shaky, and basically wanted out. She left, went back to the Beverly Hills Hotel, ordered takeout, and hid with family. Not exactly the champagne-soaked victory lap you picture.
She has also said Cruise was the one who ended things, and that she was very dependent on him at the time. The way she describes it: they lived in a bubble, she was completely smitten, and the breakup was a shock to the system that took a long time to recover from.
As for the why, British tabloids have long pushed the idea that a clash over Scientology played a role. Kidman has never confirmed that, and she does not comment on it.
Different philosophies, same marriage
A few years before the split, their public comments about relationships were noticeably not aligned. Kidman told Newsweek she did not think monogamy was a natural state. Cruise, asked about that, said the opposite: he believes in monogamy and the importance of the family unit, and lamented what he called its disintegration. He has also been clear about rejecting psychiatry and traditional marriage counseling, saying the only counseling he endorses is through Scientology because, in his words, it helps put people back in communication.
Quick timeline
- 1989/1990: They meet on Days of Thunder; Kidman auditions in front of Tony Scott, Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Robert Towne; Cruise makes that Porsche entrance; they start dating and marry in 1990.
- 1990s: Their marriage is relentlessly high-profile; they welcome two children, Isabella and Connor.
- Late 1990s: Kidman tells Newsweek monogamy is not a natural way of being; Cruise publicly disagrees and doubles down on monogamy and the family unit.
- 2001: Cruise files for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
- 2003: Kidman wins the Oscar for The Hours but later says she could not enjoy the night; she skips out early for takeout with family at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
- 2016: In PEOPLE's The Jess Cagle Interview, Kidman calls the marriage beautiful and says Cruise supported her.
- 2025: Those 2016 comments get fresh traction online, because the internet never forgets.
Where that leaves things
It is a pretty human picture: a whirlwind start, two kids, a brutal ending, and a lot of gratitude mixed with scar tissue. Kidman can hold both truths at once. And depending on which quote you look at, so can the internet.