Nicole Kidman might now be enjoying her dream marriage with Keith Urban, but her journey in love hasn’t always been smooth. It’s easy to forget that before this fairytale chapter, she was married to Tom Cruise for 11 years. From 1990 to 2001, they were one of Hollywood’s most famous couples, but their messy divorce was all over the tabloids when it ended in heartbreak.
Even though years have passed, the end of their marriage still captures attention, and new details about it keep coming up. Recently, Kidman opened up about one of the most emotionally difficult moments of her life, a time when she experienced a huge professional success amid personal chaos and sadness.
Fans of Nicole Kidman will know that her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalized right before she won an Oscar in 2003 for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours. In the ’90s, Kidman and Cruise were seen as Hollywood royalty. They even adopted two children together—Isabella and Connor. But despite their strong image, their marriage collapsed after 11 years.
The timing of the divorce couldn’t have been worse for Kidman. While she was being celebrated for her role in The Hours and nominated for an Academy Award, the shadow of her divorce loomed large over what should have been a special time in her life.
Even though Kidman ended up winning the Oscar—her first and only one so far—the personal pain she was going through tainted her victory. She has since admitted that the joy of winning was lost because of everything happening in her private life.
Talking to author Dave Karger for his book 50 Oscar Nights, Kidman shared a vivid memory of that night: “I went home and ended up ordering takeout and eating it on the floor of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
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 love; I need a love in my life. Because this is supposed to be the moment where you say, ‘This is ours.’”
She continued, “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.”
Despite the pain of that night, Kidman’s story didn’t end in sorrow. Just five years after her divorce from Cruise, she found true happiness again. In 2006, she married country singer Keith Urban, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Together, they’ve built a happy family and share two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.
The couple recently celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary, and Kidman’s love story with Urban is proof that even after heartache, happiness can be found. After all the ups and downs, Kidman now has the love she once longed for.
