Nicole Kidman may be living her fairytale life now with her husband, Keith Urban, but her journey to true love wasn’t always smooth. It’s easy to forget that before this chapter, she was married to Tom Cruise for 11 years, from 1990 to 2001. Their marriage was one of Hollywood’s most high-profile, and when it ended in divorce, it made headlines everywhere.
Though years have passed, the breakdown of their relationship still fascinates people, and new details continue to emerge. Recently, Kidman opened up about one of the most emotionally challenging times of her life—a period when she experienced great success but was also in the midst of deep personal turmoil.
Fans of Nicole Kidman likely remember that her divorce from Cruise was finalized just before she won an Oscar in 2003 for her role as Virginia Woolf in The Hours. During the ’90s, Kidman and Cruise were seen as a Hollywood power couple. They adopted two children together—Isabella and Connor—and seemed to have it all. But after 11 years of marriage, things fell apart.
The timing of their divorce couldn’t have been worse for Kidman. While she was being celebrated for her performance in The Hours and was nominated for an Academy Award, the emotional weight of her divorce overshadowed what should have been one of the brightest moments of her career.
Despite winning the Oscar—her first and only one to date—Kidman has since admitted that the joy of that night was clouded by what was happening in her personal life. She revealed that her big victory didn’t feel as special as it should have.
In an interview for the book 50 Oscar Nights by author Dave Karger, Kidman opened up about how she felt that evening. “I went home and ended up ordering takeout and eating it on the floor of the Beverly Hills Hotel,” she said. “I sat on the floor of the hotel eating French fries and a burger with my family and went to bed.
That’s when it hit me. I went, ‘I need to find my love; I need a love in my life. Because this is supposed to be when you say, ‘This is ours.’”
She went on to say, “I went to bed alone; I was in bed before midnight. If I ever won again, I’m telling you, I’d be out for 24 hours!”
Luckily for Kidman, her story didn’t end with heartbreak. Just five years after her divorce from Cruise, she found happiness again. In 2006, she married country singer Keith Urban. They’ve built a beautiful life together and share two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.
Last year, Kidman and Urban celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary. After all the ups and downs, Kidman has found the love and happiness she was longing for, proving that even after heartbreak, joy and true love can still come.
