For Nicole Kidman, each of her marriages gave her a perspective that has carried forward into her Hollywood career.
The actress, 59, has been well regarded as an industry trailblazer, for continually pushing herself in her work, championing female creators, and expanding the boundaries of her own performances.
© Getty ImagesHowever, she's also been notable for most of her career for her high-profile relationships, especially being thrust into the spotlight in the '90s as an A-lister when she married Tom Cruise, arguably the biggest movie star in the world at the time.
The couple were married from 1990 to 2001 (resulting in *those* photos of Nicole cheering outside a courthouse). And soon after, she found love with musician Keith Urban, tying the knot in 2006. That marriage came to an end in early 2026.
In a new interview with British Vogue, the actress is looking back on perceptions of herself tied to her relationships, and when asked whether it felt easier navigating her divorce from Keith in the spotlight after splitting from Tom, she joked: "It's all new." With a laugh, she added: "Every time!"
While not diving into the specifics of her divorce from the New Zealand-born musician, which was finalized earlier this year, the Practical Magic 2 star, she described the phase that came after as "free-falling," and explained that she approached the entire process "feelings first."
"I've approached my whole life like that," she added. "That's just who I am. I don't overthink things and I'm probably not that analytical. I'm far more feeling-centered and I lead with my heart. I just go, 'OK, what do I feel here? I'll give it a go'," although she also notes there was a phase when she felt "fearful and vulnerable" after it all went down.
© Getty ImagesHowever, being in the public eye proved to be the easiest part to handle. "But you have to remember literally, because of who I married at such a young age, I was thrust into it since I was 22."
"[My life has been] more time like that than not. My memory of it not being that is quite blurry, because I was really young," she recalled. "Suddenly I was 22, 23 years old and I had this huge movie star husband."
"But it just seemed completely natural. We just fell madly in love and it was that simple. I remember people saying to me, 'OK, well this is really going to affect your career.' I'm like, 'I don't care. I'm in love. I want to be married.'" Nicole noted that at the time, she was happy to "throw my career away" if it meant being happily in love.
© Getty Images"And then I was his 'wife' and they were like, 'See, we told you'," she remembered. "I'm like, 'So what? I wasn't meant to marry the man I love? Of course I'll throw my career away. I don't care.'"
While Nicole appeared in films considered her mainstream breakthrough during the period of their marriage, such as Batman Forever, To Die For (both 1995), Practical Magic (1998), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999), it was the period immediately after the divorce that solidified her status in Hollywood.
© Getty ImagesAmid being seen as "Mrs. Cruise" by many, Nicole shut down any doubters with back-to-back successes in Moulin Rouge!, The Others, and The Hours, the latter even winning her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
