The Oscars is probably one of the most star-studded events of the year. And yet, there were still some major A-listers who chose to skip the awards ceremony. Among them was Top Gun: Maverick actor and producer Tom Cruise, and his absence from the awards show reportedly had a lot to do with the attendance of his former spouse Nicole Kidman.
“Tom was not there because she was there, and he did not want a run-in,” a source shared with the Daily Mail. Although sources close to Cruise said that his absence was “not personal,” they neither confirmed nor denied whether it had anything to do with Kidman. Another report from People claims Cruise was unable to attend the show due to the production schedule for Mission: Impossible 8, currently filming overseas. Kidman was on hand at the Oscars to present an award, while Cruise’s film Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. The two actors were married from 1990 until their divorce was finalized in 2001 and share two adopted children together.
It’s been more than 20 years since Kidman and Cruise’s split, and in that time both actors have gone on to have other relationships and even remarried. Cruise was memorably tied the knot with actress Katie Holmes, which last from 2006-2012, and Kidman has been married to fellow Aussie Keith Urban since 2006. We’d honestly like to think that, given all the time that’s passed, maybe these are just rumors and Cruise just had that scheduling conflict.
Then again, the source’s observation that Cruise wanted to skip the awards ceremony his ex attended reminds us so much of how much scrutiny was placed on the former couple during their marriage. While the two rarely discuss their relationship in the public eye, Kidman has been fairly forthcoming about her struggles following her divorce from Cruise, and even revealed in an October 2018 New York Magazine essay why she married her Eyes Wide Shut co-star when she was just 22.
“I married for love,” Kidman wrote, “but being married to an extremely powerful man kept me from being sexually harassed. I would work, but I was still very much cocooned. So when I came out of it at 32, 33, it’s almost like I had to grow up.”
Before you go, click here for a look back at Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s 11-year marriage.
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