It’s been 20 years since Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise divorced, but the fascination over the former pair lingers on.
It was in February 2001 that the couple’s rep announced their “amicable separation” after 10 years of marriage. As for why, the statement blamed “the difficulties inherent in divergent careers which constantly kept them apart.” Two days later, Cruise filed divorce papers, sitting irreconcilable differences. However, as is the case with any A-list couple’s split, the reasons offered publicly did little to quell speculation and continued curiosity over what had transpired between the megawatt stars behind the scenes.
“I think that divorce is hard for anyone,” she told Oprah Winfrey later that year. “It’s a nightmare, it just is, and you can pretend you’re fine. And days you’re great [and] days you’re not great.”
By that point, however, the two had already long been a staple subject of the media—and as evidenced by the Nine Perfect Strangers star’s new Harper’s Bazaar interview, their relationship and its demise remain a topic of interest even now. Whenever either star makes mention of the other—a rare occurrence—ears tend to perk up and headlines ensue.
But was she annoyed by the way the media focused on their relationship years ago? “I was young. I think I offered it up?” she told the magazine. “Maybe I’ve gotten a bit more trepidatious, but I’m always trying to be as open as possible. I just prefer to live in the world that way.”
