Nicole Kidman Says She Was Ready to ‘Throw My Career Away’ for Tom Cruise in Rare New Interview

Nicole Kidman is opening up about her marriage to superstar Tom Cruise in a rare statement about the couple’s earliest years.

During a recent interview with British Vogue, the Academy Award-winning actress spoke candidly about Cruise, saying, “Yeah, I got married so young.” The power couple tied the knot on December 24, 1990, when she was only 23-years-old. While Cruise was older, it wasn’t exactly a May-December romance. He was only 28 at the time.

Kidman continued, revealing, “Suddenly I was 22, 23 years old and I had this huge movie star husband. But it seemed completely natural. We just fell madly in love, and it was that simple.”

She added, “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.’ And then I was his ‘wife,’ and they were like, ‘See, we told you.'”

While her critics were correct, that didn’t seem to bother the Practical Magic actress: ” I’m like, ‘So what? I wasn’t meant to marry the man I love? Of course I’ll throw my career away. I don’t care.'” As it turns out, she didn’t throw her career away. The acclaimed actress went on to star in a lengthy list of films and television series, winning an Academy Award in 2002 for The Hours, four Golden Globes, and an Emmy.

Cruise and Kidman famously met on the set of Days of Thunder in 1990. After a brief whirlwind romance, the pair married at the end of the same year. Two years later, in 1992, they adopted daughter Isballa. The Cruise-Kidmans welcomed son Connor (also via adoption) in 1995.

But their relationship didn’t last. After just over a decade together, Cruise filed for divorce in 2001.

Fast forward four years and Cruise was suddenly in love with (and jumping onto couches over) Dawson’s Creek star Katie Holmes. Despite the 16-year age gap (she was 26 and he was 42), the pair married in 2006. Earlier that year, they welcomed their first and only child, Suri. Holmes ended the marriage six years later, filing for divorce in 2012.

Meanwhile, Kidman had also moved on and found love again. The actress married country singer Keith Urban in 2006. They welcomed their first daughter, Sunday Rose, in 2008 and their second daughter, Faith Margaret, in 2010. Speculation about a separation swirled in 2025, with the couple confirming their divorce in 2026.