Due to his high-profile romance with Katie Holmes, many people forget that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman used to be married with a family of their own. The two first met on a movie set in 1990 and quickly got married. Nicole was only 23 at the time, while Tom was 28.
Nicole herself realized the two had rushed into things. "In those early years, it was like, 'I'm here and I'm clutching onto your arm, and it all feels a little overwhelming and really strange …' I was shy. Deeply shy," she said, per Guff. "I didn't feel comfortable at all. But I felt very comfortable at home."
Tom and Nicole had somewhat of a messy and incomplete ending. Many believe it was Scientology that created a wedge between them. But as the story goes, Tom walked out on Nicole while she was pregnant, which may have then led to a miscarriage. "Miss Kidman says she urged Cruise not to go, but to have marriage counseling," the courts said, per Daily Mail. "He said his decision was final and went."
However, the marriage did bring two good things to Nicole's life — her children, Connor and Bella. Both were adopted not long after Tom and Nicole said "I do," and they remain to be an important part of Nicole's life.
Connor and Bella have since led a mostly private life. Bella, who's currently 27, works as a designer. Like her father, she — along with her brother — have led a life close to the Church of Scientology. Connor has been slightly more visible than Bella, as he pursued acting for a little bit.
Connor was born on January 17, 1995. In 2012, he appeared in the movie Red Dawn, playing the role of Daryl Jenkins. In 2008, he was also in the Will Smith movie Seven Pounds. He was actually chosen to represent a younger version of Will's character, Ben. He also was a DJ for years but lately has pursued deep-sea fishing.
As for Bella, in 2018, she launched a brand called BKC — short for Bella Kidman Cruise. "Bella has been drawing ever since her wee hands could pick up a pen. Since that point in time she's been evolving in her arts," her website states.
"Her go-to medium was pen and paper for most of her life," the site continues. "However, she is now venturing into other formats and mediums. Including digital. Which has been a bit of a game changer in her opinion." Currently, her available items also include tote bags and phone cases.
It shouldn't be much of a shock that both of their adopted children went on to be creative, just like their parents. However, it's rare for Bella to share updates about herself. That is, until now. Between a sea of artistic designs, Bella shared a selfie with her 10,000 fans. "All that glitters is gold.. oh wait, it's just another Instagram filter," she wrote in the caption.
Months ago, Bella shared another photo that seemed to show off the multiple tattoos on her arm. So it's possible that she's trying to expand her audience. As her parents divorced in 2001 and have both had marriages since, it's possible that she feels like now's a good time to regain a little bit of spotlight.
Rumors have circulated for years that Bella and Connor don't get along with their mom due to their differing beliefs. However, the kids have stated that this couldn't be further from the truth. There's still a lot of love and appreciation there, and Nicole will always be their mom.
That said, there was a little bit of controversy in 2018. Nicole Kidman won a Golden Globe for her work in the show Pretty Little Lies and made sure to thank her two youngest daughters in her speech, whom she had with husband Keith Urban. "Sunny, Faith, I love you. I'm bringing this home to you, babies," she said.
The name drop was in the very beginning, but Nicole didn't recognize Bella or Connor in the speech at all. For many fans, they felt as if this move signaled a big rift between the family. But Nicole tried to clear the air in an interview with The Sun on the topic.
"Motherhood is about the journey," she said. "There are going to be incredible peaks and valleys, whether you are an adopting mother or a birth mother. What a child needs is love. They have made choices to be Scientologists. It's our job as a parent to always offer unconditional love."
In that same interview, she made it clear that she was very much in love with Tom back when they were married. "He swept me off my feet. I fell madly, passionately in love. And as happens, my whole plan in terms of what I wanted for my life, I was like, 'Forget it. This is it.' I was consumed by it, willingly," she said. "I always make choices for love and everything kind of had to fall in place around that."
She also made a good point, in saying that she shouldn't expect her kids to be or act a certain way. They are who they are. "Parenting is about learning who they are, not making them what you want them to be — letting them find their way then supporting them," she said. "It's rigorous. You're constantly looking at yourself, so you're not placing these expectations on a child."
Even if there were some tensions in the past, it seems as if Nicole has Connor's and Bella's best interests at heart. And that's very important. Nicole married Keith in 2006, just a year after they met. Nicole has admitted that there's no real secret to keeping the romance alive — except the fact that she still cares very deeply about him now as she did back then.
"Just love. Just love each other, lavish each other with love," she said to People magazine in 2016. "Also we just happen to like each other, too. That works." As for Tom, he went on to have a daughter named Suri with his next wife, Katie Holmes. However, Tom and Suri rarely spend any time together. While their situations may be tricky and out of the ordinary, it seems as if Nicole has made peace with her past, allowing for her to have a happy and open future.
