Tom Cruise’s former marriage to Nicole Kidman has been a source of speculation and rumors for years now, especially after his more eccentric public antics, such as jumping up and down on a couch, like a child, on live television.
Celebrity gossip is usually fairly entertaining, but their marriage and subsequent divorce totally take the cake.
From Cruise falling head over heels for the Australian actress and divorcing his first wife, Mimi Rogers, to leaving the controversial Church of Scientology for a few years and then finally divorcing Kidman, their story has it all...tons of drama and some alleged spies.
There’s also a heartbreaking element to it; mainly, that the couple’s children don’t have a relationship with their mom now that they’re adults.
Keep reading to learn more about Kidman’s turbulent marriage to Cruise...discover the truth about why the two split up.
15 Kidman Studied Hard To Be Part Of Scientology
It may come as a surprise to Kidman’s fans, but in the “honeymoon” phase of her marriage to Tom Cruise, Mercury News writes that she was really enthusiastic about joining Scientology.
She was so gung-ho about changing her spiritual beliefs that she even busted out the textbooks and started studying up on it.
14 Cruise Asked His Scientology Buddies To Give It A Glowing Recommendation
Mercury News points out that Cruise was thrilled when his new blushing bride took an interest in Scientology, so he got his fellow Scientologist buddies to give the belief system an A+ review.
In hindsight, this move appears totally creepy and should have been considered red flag number one, but live and learn.
13 Early In The Marriage, Kidman Felt She Had To Be A Good Wife
Even though Kidman was raised in a different faith, Mercury News notes that the reason she jumped headfirst into Scientology in the early years of her marriage was due to the fact that she had a lot of pressure on her to be “a good wife” to Cruise. She was trying not to make any waves.
12 The Group Judged Her Because Her Dad Is A Psychiatrist
Despite Kidman’s initial efforts to get into Cruise’s spiritual beliefs, it ultimately didn’t work.
The Daily Beast reports that Scientologists side-eyed her because her father is a psychiatrist and their belief system is one hundred percent against two fields, which are psychology and psychiatry, so that made things awkward.
11 Her Stint In Scientology Lasted For Two Straight Years
Kidman dabbled in the Scientology belief system for about two years, according to Mercury News.
A journalist named Tony Ortega even talked to her former Scientology auditor. Ortega learned that she studied so diligently that she got pretty high up in the belief system’s spiritual ranking system.
10 The Leader Of Scientology Had Spies In The Cruise-Kidman Household
The Daily Beast reports that Scientology leader, David Miscavige, didn’t like Kidman, especially after she made the decision to leave Scientology back in 1992.
He was concerned that Kidman would convince Cruise to leave the group. Miscavage put spies in the actor’s household, who told him everything that was going on.
9 Cruise Went MIA With Scientologists Filming Eyes Wide Shut
Everyone knows that Cruise is very passionate about his belief in Scientology, but he wasn’t always so gung-ho about the group.
The Daily Beast notes that Cruise left the group a little after his then-wife, Kidman, did. He remained apart from Scientologists for the next few years...especially when he was filming Eyes Wide Shut.
8 The Scientology Leader Was Gung-Ho About Breaking Cruise And Kidman Up
Needless to say, The Daily Beast adds, Miscavige was absolutely furious and practically blew a gasket when Cruise went incommunicado for a few years in the mid-90s.
That’s when the Scientology leader decided that Kidman was a bad influence on the actor and knew that he needed to come up with a plan to split them up.
7 The Leader Also Ordered Detailed Reports About The Two Actors
The Daily Beast writes that, aside from Miscavige placing spies in the Kidman-Cruise household, who helped keep tabs on the couple, he went one step further.
The Scientology leader wanted the spies to give him detailed reports on what the couple was doing and even managed to coerce Cruise’s assistant, Michael Doven, into helping him.
6 Cruise Became Concerned About Who Kidman Was Talking To
According to Mercury News, Miscavige was able to get back into Cruise’s good graces and immediately went to work on trying to get the couple split up.
Tom Cruise started to become suspicious of his wife, and there are rumors that suggest he even wiretapped her phone, although the Church of Scientology vehemently denies doing so.
5 Once Kidman Was Unwilling To Continue With Scientology, She Was A Liability
The Daily Beast points out that it wasn’t just Kidman’s father's career as a psychiatrist that made Miscavige dislike her, it was the fact she was once enthusiastic about Scientology but that enthusiasm visibly waned before she left.
He also wanted Cruise to become one of the most famous members of the group and felt that Kidman threw a wrench in those plans.
4 Kidman Was Branded A "Suppressive Person"
The Daily Beast adds that Kidman was labeled a "Suppressive Person" by Scientologists, to further facilitate Tom and Nicole's breakup (and help Cruise turn on his then-wife),
To the group, this label means that the person in question is not a good influence on the Scientologist’s life and needs to be cut out ASAP.
Related: 20 Unusual Facts Keith Urban And Nicole Kidman Don’t Share About Their Marriage
3 Scientology Used Cruise And Kidman's Children To Help Break Their Parents Up
The Daily Beast writes that there are rumors that the Scientologists didn’t just influence Cruise to think of his then-wife in a negative manner.
Allegedly, the group also managed to convince the couple’s two adopted children that their mom was a bad influence on their lives since she wasn’t into Scientology anymore and ditched the belief system.
2 To This Day, Kidman's Children With Cruise Don't Talk To Her
To this day, notes The Daily Beast, Cruise and Kidman’s adopted children, Connor and Isabella, don’t really talk to their mother.
They’re also still practicing Scientologists, but Kidman doesn’t hold a grudge against them for that and pointed out in an interview that she still has unconditional love for them.
1 Kidman And Cruise Once Studied Together At Riverside County
Mercury News notes that Kidman became increasingly unhappy with Scientology after studying with her then-husband at the group’s international headquarters in Riverside County.
A former senior executive for the church mentioned in an interview that he drove Kidman to a photoshoot and noted that her enthusiasm for the belief system had visibly shrunk.