Nicole Kidman opens up about her marriage to Tom Cruise

"It definitely wasn’t power for me — it was protection," she said.

October 16, 2018, 11:09 AM

In an essay for New York Magazine's "Woman and Power" series, Nicole Kidman opened up about her past marriage to Tom Cruise, sharing some incredible insight about her high-profile relationship.

The actress and producer married the movie star in 1990 and divorced in 2001. The couple adopted two children, Isabella and Connor.

"Being married to Tom Cruise at 22 is something I’m always reluctant to talk about, because I’m married now to the man who is my great love [Keith Urban], and it almost feels disrespectful," Kidman, 51, wrote.

Kidman married the Australian rocker in 2006 and they also have two children, Sunday and Faith.

PHOTO: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban attend the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium, Jan. 21, 2018, in Los Angeles.
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban attend the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium, Jan. 21, 2018, in Los Angeles.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

She said she was decided to talk about her ex because of #MeToo movement.

"That said, I got married very young, but it definitely wasn’t power for me — it was protection," she said. "I married for love, but being married to an extremely powerful man kept me from being sexually harassed. I would work, but I was still very much cocooned. So when I came out of it at 32, 33, it’s almost like I had to grow up."

"I married for love, but being married to an extremely powerful man kept me from being sexually harassed."

And she admitted that she did experience harassment at one point in her career.

"But do I want to expose them in an article? No," she wrote. "Do they come out in my work? Absolutely. I’m open and raw. I want to have my well of experience and emotion tapped into, used — and I’m not just talking about sexual harassment. I’m talking about loss, death, the full array of life. But it has to be by the right people so it’s not abused again."