Tom Cruise skipped the Oscars on Sunday to ‘avoid an awkward run-in’ with Nicole Kidman, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned.
Insiders said the Top Gun: Maverick star was not at the ceremony due to his ex-wife being there – following their bitter divorce over 20 years ago.
Cruise’s movie was nominated for six awards, including the coveted Best Picture Award.
Cruise and Kidman split in 2001, reportedly due to her refusal to join him in the Church of Scientology.
A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Tom was not there because she was there, and he did not want a run-in.’
Happier times: Cruise and Kidman (pictured in 1992) divorced in 2001 after 12 years of marriage amid rumours his commitment his Scientology drove a wedge between them
Cruise and Spielberg gave each other a warm embrace at the 2023 Oscars’ luncheon, where the director was heard saying Cruise ‘saved Hollywood’s a**’
However, sources close to Cruise claimed his absence was ‘not personal’ and was nothing more than scheduling difficulties, though they did not reply specifically to the claim that it was connected to Kidman’s presence.
Cruise, 60, and his ex-wife have not been present at the same Oscars bashes this year and haven’t been seen at the same event for years.
Kidman, 55 – who walked Oscars red carpet with her country singer husband Keith Urban, 55, before packing on serious PDA during the show – as notably absent from Oscars luncheon that was attended by her Scientologist ex last month.
Cruise was seen embracing Steven Spielberg during the February 13 luncheon, as the director was heard on video telling he action star that Maverick had ‘saved Hollywood’s a**’ by bringing audiences back to theaters.
His ex-wife, with whom he shares two children – Connor, 28, and Isabella, 30 – was notably absent from that event.
Kidman met Cruise in 1990 when the two were cast together in Days of Thunder, a film about motor-racing.
She was 23 at the time and, coming from Australia, was unknown in Hollywood. That all changed when the stars sparked a real-life romance during the filming.
After 12 years of marriage, Cruise walked out on his wife in 2001, leaving her in a state of ‘utter shock.’ He filed for divorce that same year, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’
According to reports, the real reason for him abandoning her was due to her refusal to join the Church of Scientology.
In 2012, Kidman opened up about her painful split from Cruise in an interview with DuJour Magazine.
‘I thought our life together was perfect. It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system,’ she said.
‘We were in a bubble, just the two of us. We became very dependent on one another. I was reeling with Tom,’ she told the outlet. ‘I would have gone to the ends of the earth for him…. I was totally smitten – I fell madly, passionately in love.’
Looking back, she told the outlet that she was ‘naïve’ to think that Cruise was her happily ever after. She also said that she was ‘happier’ that she’s ‘ever been.’
‘I’m living in a friend’s house in Nice. My two daughters are with me, Sunday Rose, who’s four, and Faith Margaret, who’s two,’ Kidman gushed.
Kidman and Cruise have not had any interaction in over a decade.
In fact, Kidman has also not spoken to the two children that she adopted with Cruise – Isabella, 30, and Connor, 28 – in years.
Isabella and Connor are both devoted members of The Church of Scientology like their father.
Kidman was shunned by the church and labelled an SP, which stand for Suppressive Person. As a result, she was cut off from her family.
In a 2015 interview with Australia’s Who magazine, Kidman broke her silence about her relationship with both kids.
‘They are adults. They are able to make their own decisions,’ Kidman said, adding ‘They have made choices to be Scientologists and as a mother, it’s my job to love them.’
Epic ending: A photographer captured this photo of Nicole leaving her attorney’s office when her divorce from Tom was finalized in 2001
That same year, Kidman also spoke out about her divorce from Cruise during a speech at the Women World Summit in NYC.
‘I was running from my life at that time. I wasn’t able to handle the reality of my life,’ she told the audience.
At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, Cruise was celebrated with a 10-minute montage that included highlights from his entire career, which spanned four decades.
The montage left out Kidman, who made three films with her ex-husband during their marriage.
She nothing about being snubbed from Cruise’s highlight reel. He, meanwhile, has never spoken publicly about their failed marriage.
In 2006, Cruise married actress Katie Holmes. They divorced in 2012 and it is alleged that his ties to Scientology caused the breakdown of their marriage. They couple’s daughter Suri, now 16, does not have a relationship with her father.
A source close to Cruise said he attended the February 13 Oscars luncheon because ‘his schedule allowed it at the time’, and added that he skipped the Oscars because he is in the UK filming Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning 2 but he tuned in to watch the ceremony.
He is, sources say, ‘very pleased Maverick got such recognition and he is very proud of the film’; adding he ‘did not skip the show because he was not nominated’.
‘Tom worked very hard on the film and has supported in every way that he can, work permitting.’
Although Cruise was not in attendance at the 2023 Oscars, producer Jerry Bruckheimer was set to accept the award if Maverick won the award for Best Picture.
The movie starring Cruise was nominated for Best Picture along with Elvis, Avatar: The Way of Water, All Quiet on The Western Front and The Fabelmans. Everything, Everywhere All at Once won in the category.
Cruise was not nominated for his performance in the film. Austin Butler was nominated for his role in Elvis, as well as Bill Nighy for Living. Brendan Fraser won for his incredible performance in the film Whale.
Maverick was also nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Film Editing, Sound, Visual Effects and Music (Original Song). The only award that the film garnered was for Sound.
Kidman was nominated for five Academy Awards in the Best Actress category and, in 2002, seized the coveted golden trophy for her amazing portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours.
Soucre: www.dailymail.co.uk
