Date: 6th February 2001

"Perfect Couple" Cruise and Kidman Split


Blaming "the difficulties inherent in divergent careers which constantly keep them apart," Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced Monday that they are separating after more than ten years.

Their announcement -- and the stated reason for the split -- appeared to surprise many Hollywood insiders, who have observed that the couple have gone out of their way to remain together while pursuing their individual careers.

Only recently they collaborated on The Others, filmed in Spain, in which Kidman starred and Cruise served as executive producer. (They have co-starred in three films.) Even their publicist, Pat Kingsley, who made the announcement, appeared shocked by the couple's decision. "It blew me away," Kingsley told New York Daily News columnist Mitchell Fink. "I had come to think of Tom and Nicole as the Holy Grail of marriages. I'm very sad about this." Several entertainment columnists decribed the announcement as a "bombshell."

Source: Studio Briefing