16 Years Later, We Still Don't Know Why Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise Divorced

Updated on 10/14/2017 at 1:00 PM

Before Nicole Kidman found love with husband Keith Urban, the actress spent the entire '90s married to Tom Cruise. The couple first met in 1989 during Nicole's audition for Days of Thunder, and they married shortly after on Dec. 24, 1990. During their relationship, Nicole and Tom starred together in films like Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut, made several glamorous appearances together, and adopted two children, Connor and Isabella.

In February 2001, however, Tom abruptly filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences" and requesting joint custody of their kids. The reason for their split is still a little hazy, although there have long been rumors that Tom's faith as a Scientologist played a part. The two also rarely spoke about what went wrong in the years following their split, but they (mostly Nicole) have revealed small details about their marriage in recent years. Here's everything Tom and Nicole have said about their marriage since their split.

Tom on Nicole

"We raised children . . . I love Nic very much, there's no question."
"I want Nicole to be happy. That's what I want."
"Where I am with Nic is in a great place."

Nicole on Tom

"I was so young when I got married. I look back now and I'm like, 'What?' You look at Taylor Swift, I mean how old is she? She's 26. I had two kids by the time I was 27 and I'd been married for four years. But that's what I wanted."
"I fell madly, passionately in love. I was reeling with Tom. I would have gone to the ends of the earth for him."
"I was so young. There is something about that sort of existence that, if you really focus on each other and you're in that bubble, it's very intoxicating, because it's just the two of you. And there is only one other person that's going through it. It brings you very close, and it's deeply romantic."
"Our life together was perfect. It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system."
"That was a great relationship. I think it ran its course. I was really damaged and not sure whether [love and marriage] was ever going to happen again to me."
"I was lucky at 22 that I met somebody who fascinated me, amazed me, who could keep me interested. I walked in [to the Days of Thunder audition] and [Tom] was the one that stood up and shook my hand. And I just remember electricity going through me."
"I became famous very young. I became very famous because I was the wife of somebody. I felt I became a star only by association. I didn't think (my early movies) were very good, which is why I would always cower in the background. I thought, I don't deserve to be here. We would go to the Oscars and I would think, I'm here to support him. I felt it was my job to put on a beautiful dress and to be seen and not heard."
"From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies. And we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic."
"I don't want to take away from 11 years with that man that were really important. Really, for our kids — they were amidst a lot of love. It wasn't bad. And now we're amidst a more evolved love."
"I want to honor that marriage for what it was, and there is nothing I would go into about that. I have never discussed the intricacies of it and I never will."