The mystery behind Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise’s hilarious divorce celebration meme has deepened after the star claimed the viral photos are ‘from a movie’ – but fans aren’t so convinced.
Nicole, 57, and Tom, 62, were married from 1990 to 2001 – with a photographer apparently capturing an iconic photo of Nicole raising her arms and screaming in elation as she left her lawyer’s office when her divorce was finalized.
The photo series has since become an iconic meme and has been circulating on the internet for over twenty years.
However, Nicole has now denied it was ‘real life’ and instead gave a surprising explanation for what she was doing at the time of the photo.
She told me British GQ: ‘That’s not true… That wasn’t me. That came from a movie. That wasn’t real life. I know that image!’
But she couldn’t specify which movie she was filming at the time and fans have put their detective skills to work trying to track it down – with no success.
The mystery behind Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise’s divorce celebration meme has deepened after the star claimed the snaps are ‘from a movie’ – but fans aren’t convinced
A photographer reportedly captured the photo of Nicole raising her arms and screaming with joy as she left her lawyer’s office after her divorce was finalized (Tom and Nicole above in 1997)
On Reddit, one user joked, “I thought her last excuse was that she sneezed. This is the first time I read it, it was for a movie. I need the internet to immediately find out which film it is from.’
Someone else guessed: ‘I just did a shallow dive and I can’t even find the original source of the photo.
There were some pap photos from September of that year where her hair looked very similar, so maybe it was taken around that time – but if it was from a movie set, that probably means it would be a movie shot in 2002 or even 2003 released.
“Her clothes look modern, so the only movie in that time frame that would make sense is The Human Stain?
“This could also come from something she filmed that was cut or reworked and never really saw the light of day, or it could even be her leaving a film set and misremembering that it was something that was filmed.”
Meanwhile, a third skeptical fan said: ‘Her PR/lawyers may have asked Getty to remove the image from their database. We may never know the full story.”
Someone else simply asked, “What movie Nicole?” as more and more people flooded the answers trying to figure it out.
When someone asked what movie it was from, one person joked in the comments, “The slice-of-life movie that happened to be filmed outside her law office.”
Others joked: ‘Right? Which movie Nicole? We would remember it since she has her red hair in the photo.”
However, Nicole has now denied it was ‘real life’ and instead gave a surprising explanation for what she was doing at the time of the photo
But she couldn’t specify which movie she was filming at the time and fans have put their detective skills to work trying to track it down – with no success.
“I could have sworn a few years ago she said it was her while she sneezed. Now she says it’s from a movie? I’m more convinced than ever that it’s exactly what we thought it was lol.’
“Queen, you can’t keep saying it’s from a movie, it’s been twenty years.”
‘Which movie Nicole? What movie???’
“The timeline is wrong, Nicole, but I appreciate the effort. she didn’t make as many films during the end of her marriage.
Moulin Rouge was filming while they were breaking up, her career soared to new heights after Tom was so doubtful that this was another movie that no one can mention lol.”
“Her character should have red curly hair. She doesn’t have many films about that, so it would definitely limit it.”
Tom and Nicole met in 1990 when the two were cast together in Days of Thunder, a film about car racing.
She was 23 at the time and, from Australia, unknown in Hollywood. That all changed when the stars struck up a real-life romance during filming.
Tom and Nicole met in 1990 when the two were cast together in Days of Thunder, a film about car racing
She was 23 at the time and, from Australia, unknown in Hollywood. That all changed when the stars struck up a real-life romance during filming
After 12 years of marriage, Tom left his wife in 2001, leaving her in a state of ‘utter shock’. He filed for divorce that same year, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
They adopted two children during their marriage: Bella, 31, and Connor, 29.
According to reports, the real reason why he abandoned her was due to her refusal to join the Church of Scientology.
In 2012, Nicole opened up about her painful breakup in an interview with DuJour magazine.
‘I thought our life together was perfect. It took a long time for me to heal. It was a shock to my system,” she said.
‘We were in a bubble, just the two of us. We have become very dependent on each other. I was reeling with Tom,” she told the outlet. ‘I would have gone to the ends of the earth for him… I was completely in love – I fell madly, passionately in love.’
Looking back, she told the outlet that she was “naive” to think Tom was her happily ever after.
Last year it was rumored that Tom ‘skipped’ the Oscars to avoid ‘an awkward encounter’ with Nicole.
Insiders said the Top Gun: Maverick star didn’t attend the ceremony because his ex-wife was there – following their bitter divorce more than two decades ago.
Kidman has been married to Keith Urban since 2006 and the couple have two daughters (pictured last month)
Tom’s film was nominated for six awards, including the coveted Best Picture award.
A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Tom wasn’t there because she was there and he didn’t want a collision.’
However, sources close to Tom claimed that his absence was “not personal” and was nothing more than scheduling issues, although they did not specifically respond to the claim that this was related to Nicole’s presence.
Tom and his ex-wife haven’t been seen at the same event in years.
Nicole — who walked the Oscars red carpet with her country singer husband Keith Keith before packing on some serious PDA during the show — was notably absent from the Oscars luncheon attended by her Scientologist ex the month before.
Tom was seen hugging Steven Spielberg at the Feb. 13 luncheon, when the director was heard on video telling the action star that Maverick saved “Hollywood’s a**” by bringing audiences back to theaters.