Nicole Kidman has set the record straight behind the viral meme that’s believed to have captured her celebrating her divorce from ex-husband Tom Cruise.
When asked about the theory behind the famous snapshot, Nicole, 57, told British GQ, “That’s not true.”
In the throwback photo that often circulates on social media, Nicole was seen wearing a patterned top, green capris and sneakers. She appeared happy and was seemingly cheering in the snapshot, which has led many people to believe that the photo captured her celebrating her divorce from Tom, 62, being finalized.
“That was not me,” she told the outlet about the photo. “That was from a film. That wasn’t real life. I know that image!”
Despite insisting that the photo was taken when she was in character, Nicole did not reveal which movie the scene was for.
The former couple tied the knot in 1990, and they went on to adopt daughter Isabella, 31, and son Connor, 29. The exes eventually split in 2001.
Following her separation from the Top Gun actor, Nicole married husband Keith Urban in 2005. Meanwhile, Tom was married to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012.
Both Nicole and Tom have kept details of their divorce out of the spotlight, though she made a rare comment about her ex when discussing their 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut during a July interview. While speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Nicole was asked if director Stanley Kubrick took inspiration from their real-life romance for the film.
“I suppose he was mining it,” she said of the late director. “There were ideas he was interested in. He’d ask a lot of questions. But he had a strong sense of the story he was telling. I do remember him saying, ‘Triangles are hard. You have to tread carefully when it’s a triangle.’”
The Big Little Lies actress continued, “Because one person could feel ganged up on. But he was aware of that and knew how to manage us.”
Shortly after the interview was released, an insider exclusively told In Touch that Tom was upset that she spoke about him after their failed marriage.
“Tom doesn’t understand why Nicole constantly seems to constantly reference the times they shared together,” the source said in August. “Even if it is more about the work they did together, it still bothers him because it’s so far in the past and something he’d like to forget.”
After noting that Tom has “said goodbye to that chapter of his life,” the insider explained that he didn’t understand “why she can’t do the same.”
“For Nicole, it’s just nonsense because she’s just answering questions that pertain to her career, but there’s no denying she does love to go into detail about Tom’s creative genius,” the source continued.
The insider added that Nicole’s “star power was at its peak when she was with Tom,” and he believes that their marriage “catapulted her to stardom.”
“That’s when she really made it. Tom understands all that, but he’s just at a tipping point,” the source said. “He can handle most of the noise and rumors about him, but Nicole has been so poisonous about him to all their mutual friends.”