Forget about sensational headlines! Ditch spilling tea with Oprah! Tom Cruise’s direct post-divorce remarks regarding Nicole Kidman explain why he keeps his private life away from the public’s prying eyes. Remember the frenzy when his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, bolted? Yeah, Cruise avoids that drama like a rogue stunt double. 

Tom Cruise speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Top Gun: Maverick"
Tom Cruise speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Top Gun: Maverick” | Wikimedia/Gage skidmore

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s divorce is ingrained in Hollywood history. The couple’s early 2000s divorce rose to fame as one of the most well-known celeb splits. However, fans are still curious about Cruise and Kidman’s divorce even today. So, buckle up for a story about a tight-lipped Tom Cruise and the peak behind his immensely private world. 

From blunt response to brutal reality: Why Tom Cruise shuts down divorce talk

Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise with Alex Montiel at the premiere of The Misión: Imposible 2023 | Wikimedia/LA LATA

With Tom Cruise’s divorce ending two decades ago, he would likely not bare his wounds in public. The actor got furious when a reporter asked him a question regarding his divorce from ex-wife Nicole Kidman. In a conversation with Vanity Fair, a reporter asked him, “Why did you and Nicole decide to end it?” Getting a bit weirded out, the Jack Reacher star said curtly,

Honestly, people should mind their own business…. My personal life isn’t here to sell newspapers

Cruise further said that the divorce had ended 20 years ago, and both of them have moved on. Kidman is a mother to his children, and he’d always wish her well. Explaining how the process of life continues, Cruise said that things happen in life, and while one does everything they can, there’s a point of brutal reality that takes over. 

The reporter further asked Cruise if his thinking had changed. The Oblivion actor responded by saying he had battled through everything long ago and that the experience is all done and dusted now.

The experience was the experience. I don’t feel that way. I don’t feel that way. I don’t. I’ve gone through everything. It was what it was.

Cruise’s terse response to the reporter’s inquiry highlights his determination to maintain the privacy of his personal life. He wishes Kidman well and acknowledges the passing of time, but his frequent use of the word “I don’t” betrays a yearning to put the past behind him. Moving on, it appears, for Cruise means keeping the wounds hidden—a tactic that has powered his work and kept his personal life a mystery.

The untold story about Cruise-Kidman fallout 

Nicole Kidman speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Aquaman"
Nicole Kidman speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con International, for “Aquaman” | Wikimedia/Gage Skidmore

Nicole Kidman was married to Tom Cruise for the whole of the 1990s before she fell in love with her now-husband, Keith Urban. When the Moulin Rougue star went for her Days of Thunder audition in 1989, she met Cruise—and on December 24, 1990, they got married. The ex-couple shared many dazzling appearances and co-starred in movies like Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut. They also adopted two kids, Connor and Isabella, during their relationship.

But Tom suddenly filed for divorce in February 2001, claiming “irreconcilable differences” and asked for shared custody of their children. Although the exact cause of their breakup is still unknown, there have long been speculations that Tom’s Scientologist faith was a factor. The two also rarely spoke about what went wrong in the years following their split, but they (mostly Kidman) have revealed small details about their marriage in recent years. In an interview, the actress said,

I was so young when I got married. I look back now and I’m like, ‘What?’ You look at Taylor Swift, I mean how old is she? She’s 26. I had two kids by the time I was 27 and I’d been married for four years. 

Although the exact reasons behind Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s breakup are still unknown, it is evident that Cruise has a strong dedication to maintaining her privacy. Similar to his action hero personas, this desire to keep his personal life private has propelled his career and left admirers pining for a peek beneath the well-maintained façade. Their whirlwind affair, which concluded with a very intimate farewell, is carved in Hollywood history.

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