Nicole Kidman Offers Rare Glimpse Into Her Whirlwind Marriage To Tom Cruise: 'We Just Fell Madly In Love'

The following article includes mentions of pregnancy loss.

Nicole Kidman spent much of the '80s appearing in smaller movies, but toward the end of the decade, she was cast in the Tom Cruise NASCAR movie "Days of Thunder," changing not only her professional life, but also her personal life. It was while auditioning for the role of Dr. Claire Lewicki that Kidman first met Cruise and, as she explained to Vanity Fair, "I remember being so nervous and seeing Tom Cruise drive up in a Porsche... He got out of the car and walked through the door, and I was like, 'Ah.' My jaw dropped." Kidman, just 22 when she was cast in the hit 1990 film, was instantly enamored with the biggest star in the business, explaining, "He basically swept me off my feet. I fell madly, passionately in love." The two tied the knot on Christmas Eve 1990. Looking back on her relationship with Cruise, Kidman admitted to British Vogue she might have rushed into things. "We just fell madly in love and it was that simple," she said. 

In marrying Cruise, Kidman ignored the advice of others, adding, "I remember people saying to me, 'OK, well this is really going to affect your career.' I'm like, 'I don't care. I'm in love. I want to be married." The marriage did affect Kidman's career, but not necessarily for the worse. Throughout the 1990s, she became one of the most sought-after actors of her generation, appearing in the superhero blockbuster "Batman Forever," and the witchy comedy "Practical Magic" with Sandra Bullock. She also made two more movies with Cruise, Ron Howard's "Far and Away" and Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut." Along the way, Kidman and Cruise adopted two children, but their romance wasn't built to last.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were the king and queen of Hollywood throughout the '90s and 1999's "Eyes Wide Shut" showed off the couple's sexual chemistry. But making the movie was far from easy. Director Stanley Kubrick, known for being exacting, pushed Kidman and Cruise to new levels, filming for 400 days. And while it wasn't easy, the always amazing-looking Kidman was happy to do it, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I would have stayed a third year. Does that mean I'm crazy?" When she and Cruise divorced in 2001, many believed it was that movie that broke their relationship, but Kidman disputed those rumors to the New York Times: "We were happily married through that. We would go go-kart racing after those [intense] scenes." 

It was Cruise who filed for divorce, claiming it was over irreconcilable differences, and the two have avoided discussing it any further. When asked about the divorce in 2002, Cruise gave Vanity Fair a curt answer, saying, "She knows why, and I know why... I don't care if it piques people's interest. Honestly, people should mind their own damn business." Kidman has also avoided delving deeper into the reasons behind their separation, but has opened up about the couple suffering a tragedy near the end while dispelling a different rumor that she suffered a miscarriage early in the relationship, telling Marie Claire, "So it's huge news, and it didn't happen. I had a miscarriage at the end of my marriage..."

While Cruise's decision to leave Kidman came as a surprise to her, she knew how to make light of the situation. Since their divorce, Kidman has been nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one — something Cruise has yet to pull off.