42. He Pulled a Quick One
The probable reason behind this strange argument about timing is surprisingly brutal. In California, divorces that don’t involve pre-nuptial agreements change significantly if the marriage lasts longer than ten years. Lasting for 10 years hugely changes the financial responsibility of one party in the divorce toward the other. In other words, by claiming that they’d never hit their decade anniversary, Cruise wouldn’t have to pay Kidman alimony. The divorce only got nastier from there.
43. She Couldn’t Shake Them
For her part, Kidman remained tight-lipped about the split for the sake of her two kids, Isabella and Connor. She began to rebuild her life with the help of her close friends Naomi Watts, who she stayed with, and Hugh Jackman—but she still couldn’t escape the unwanted attention from the tabloids.
44. She Got Back at Them
When Kidman began to make the film Cold Mountain, rumors spread that she’d had an affair with co-star Jude Law, who was married at the time. Kidman sued The Daily Mail for libel when they printed the allegations, and eventually won her case, once again donating the money she’d gotten for damages to charity. When will these tabloids learn?
45. She Was Finally Free
In August of 2001, Cruise and Kidman’s divorce was finalized. While they have remained relatively quiet about the split, both have claimed that they remain friendly for the sake of their children, and that it was not any one thing that led to the divorce. It was clearly a devastating time for Kidman, but also a liberating one—now infamous-photos were printed of Kidman leaving her lawyer’s office after signing the divorce papers, looking quite ecstatic.
46. She Had A Rough Ride
Following the divorce, Kidman threw herself into her career, and it really paid off. She was nominated for her first Academy Award for Moulin Rouge!—and to say she worked hard for it would be an understatement. Not only did Kidman break two ribs on set, she also injured her knee during a musical number and had to film some scenes from a wheelchair.
Moulin Rouge, 20th Century Fox Television
47. She Tricked Them
Kidman followed up this performance with the eerie horror The Others and the drama The Hours, for which she donned a prosthetic nose. She actually found it handy to wear when she wasn’t filming. Paparazzi failed to recognize her when it was on. For The Hours, Kidman finally won the coveted Best Actress Oscar…and things finally began to turn around for her.
48. She Bounced Back
After Kidman got back on her feet, she was linked with a number of men. These included Hollywood playboy Steve Bing and musician Lenny Kravitz. Kidman even revealed that she was secretly engaged during this time, likely to Kravitz. None of them lasted until she met country musician Keith Urban. After a year and a half of dating, the pair wed in Sydney in June 2006…but the marriage got off to a very rocky start.
49. He Had His Personal Demons
Just months into their new marriage, Urban revealed that he had a disturbing dark side. Kidman realized that Urban had a destructive substance issue. It was a horrible period of their life together, and the already-fragile Kidman was pushed to the edge by the devastating revelation.
50. She Helped Him Through It
Luckily for Urban, Kidman wasn’t willing to give up on him. She decided to stage an intervention for her new husband. He listened, and immediately checked into rehab. The news made it to the tabloids, but Urban got through the program, and has reportedly been sober ever since.
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51. He’d Be Screwed In More Than One Way
There may be more than one reason why Urban has been able to keep himself in check. Kidman and Urban have a pre-nup agreement that for every year of marriage, Urban is eligible for $640,000—however, if he relapses at all, in any way, that entire part of the contract becomes null and void. If he were ever to touch an illicit substance, not only would he lose Kidman—he’d lose a whole lot of money.
52. She Finally Had Kids
After her struggles to conceive when she was with Cruise, Kidman was ecstatic when she finally became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter with Urban. They named their baby girl Sunday Rose in 2008. Hoping to avoid another risky pregnancy, Kidman and Urban had another child via gestational surrogacy in 2010. They named her Faith Margaret.
53. She Lost Someone
In the midst of life with her growing family, Kidman suffered a devastating loss. In 2014, her father suddenly passed of a heart attack while visiting her sister Antonia in Singapore. The Kidman family’s nightmare didn’t end there. Less than a year later, Antonia’s ex-husband and the father of her four children also suffered a heart attack and passed suddenly.
54. They Had a Huge Scare
Losing two important members of the family to heart attacks was horrific—but their ordeal continued. In 2016, Kidman’s mother Janelle was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. Luckily, Kidman’s sister was visiting at the time and was able to care for Janelle, who later recovered.
55. They’re Never Apart
There’s one thing that the marriages between Kidman and Cruise and Kidman and Urban have in common. It's not just the constant tabloid rumors about divorce. When Kidman and Cruise wed, they vowed to never spend more than a couple of weeks apart from each other. This is a vow that Kidman also adheres to in her marriage with Urban. She considers it an extremely important part of their relationship.
56. She Has Wandering Lips
In 2017, Nicole Kidman made headlines again when she was seen kissing a man on the lips at the Emmys. That man was most definitely not Keith Urban. Granted, the man was her Big Little Lies co-star Alexander Skarsgard. It was right after Skarsgard won an Emmy, and Urban was standing right beside her. Still, some people found it strange that Kidman congratulated Skarsgard with a full-on kiss.
When asked about the incident on The Graham Norton Show, Kidman protested, "I kissed my husband too!" She continued, "I did kiss [Skarsgard], but you gotta understand, I did everything with Alex [while on set]". She then confirmed, "I've got an amazing, supportive, gorgeous husband who I love more than anything in the world".
57. She Suffered a Tragic Loss
In the early 90s, everything was going great for Kidman. She was still in the honeymoon phase with Cruise and was in demand in Hollywood. Things got even better when she found out that she was pregnant—but sadly, tragedy was lurking around the corner. Kidman suffered from an ectopic pregnancy and lost the baby. She kept what happened a secret until after her divorce from Cruise.
58. They Were Listening
The tabloids often blamed Scientology for Kidman's divorce from Tom Cruise. Very little was known about the split’s awful details—until former Scientologists revealed that Cruise and the Church of Scientology had actually tapped Kidman's phone toward the end of their marriage without her knowledge.
59. She Lost More Than Just Cruise
During her marriage to Cruise, Kidman had claimed that her religion was a little bit of everything. She said there was a lot of Catholicism, some Buddhism, and even some Scientology. Following the divorce, she distanced herself from Scientology—and it led to devastating consequences. Kidman’s adopted kids with Cruise, Connor and Isabella, are both very active Scientologists. In recent years, sad rumors have abounded about their relationship.
60. She Lets Them Do What They Want
It’s been claimed that her kids (or the Church of Scientology) have branded Kidman a “suppressive person” following her divorce from Cruise, and she hasn’t been seen in public with either of them for years, leading many to believe that they’re estranged. For her part, Kidman has defended her kids’ decisions, saying that they’re adults and that they’re allowed to make their own choices.
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