Nicole Kidman Shatters the Urban Myth of Her 2001 Tom Cruise Divorce Photo

Nicole Kidman has been a part of the celebrity divorce urban myth for 23 years. It’s unclear where it started, but the 57-year-old actress is shattering the internet legend tied to a photo that was reportedly taken after her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalized. The truth is far less interesting. 

To refresh your memory, the original image shows Kidman in a state of ecstasy as she’s walking down the street — her arms in action and her face shows unfettered joy. (You can see the photo here.) Somewhere down the line, the snapshot was linked to her ex, and a Hollywood folk tale was born. Kidman, who has a sense of humor about it, cleared up the mystery in an interview with British GQ. 

That’s not true,” she laughed. “That was not me; that was from a film, that wasn’t real life. I know that image!” The internet should have known the photo was from a movie, but so far, Kidman nor her fans have revealed where it’s from. (Let us know if you find it!) Still, the powerful moment resonated with other stars, including Jenna Dewan, who recently shared the meme on her Sept. 26 Instagram Story after her contentious divorce from Channing Tatum was finalized after a six-year fight. 

Kidman has always been meme-worthy though because fans also love her GIF from the 2017 Oscars where she’s clapping only using her palms — her fingers were too loaded down with jewels. “I’ve also seen the one where I’m clapping like that,” she said. “‘Cause I had a massive heavy borrowed ring on, and it was really painful, and I was scared of wrecking the jewelry. Ha! There’s always something behind the actual images that go out there, right.”

Memes aside, Kidman’s marriage to Cruise was a storybook beginning without a fairytale ending. They met on the set of Days of Thunder in 1990, and she was smitten from the first moment she met him. “I remember being so nervous and seeing Tom Cruise drive up in a Porsche,” she said on The Jess Cagle Interview in 2016. “He got out of the car and walked through the door, and I was like, ‘Ah.’ My jaw dropped.”

The Hollywood power couple were admired on every red carpet, and they grew their family, adopting daughter Isabella in 1992 and son Connor in 1995. They worked together for 400 days on Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, but it also felt like the beginning of the end for their marriage. In 2001, Cruise filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. She told Ladies’ Home Journal, via The Augusta Chronicle, in 2006 that his action was a “major shock” for her. 

“He was huge; still is. To me, he was just Tom, but to everybody else, he is huge. But he was lovely to me,” she recalled after their divorce. “And I loved him. I still love him.” 

Kidman and Cruise’s marriage didn’t last, but a fake meme will forever live on the internet.

Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity couples who met on set.