Pregnant Kidman Dissed by Cruise

Fri., May. 4, 2001 10:45 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise may be having their own days of thunder in court.

In what's shaping up to be a nasty split, Kidman filed court papers Thursday detailing her version of the events that led to their marriage's demise.

Responding to Cruise's divorce petition filed February 7 in Los Angeles Superior Court and citing irreconcilable differences, Kidman writes that she was caught completely off guard when the Hollywood star announced he wanted to dissolve their union shortly after she became pregnant with his child.

"This came as a shock to [Kidman]," read court papers. "On December 24, the parties had happily celebrated their 10th anniversary with a group of friends. During the balance of December and thereafter the parties were intimate; in fact, [Kidman] became pregnant by [Cruise] but lost the baby through a miscarriage."

The 33-year-old red-haired Aussie actress begged her 38-year-old husband to stay and try to work things out but he allegedly bolted anyway.

"[Kidman] protested [Cruise's] intention to dissolve their marriage and urged him not to leave but to enter marriage counseling with her or take other steps to address whatever problems may have existed in their marriage...[However, Cruise] said his decision was final and he departed the parties' home," the documents read.

In his February petition, Cruise said the couple decided to separate in December, before their 10th anniversary.

But Kidman disputes that, saying it wasn't until February 4 that Cruise told her he wanted a divorce. By claiming that date, Kidman can take advantage of a California law that says that after 10 years of marriage, a spouse must pay alimony until the other partner remarries.

Kidman is seeking joint custody of the couple's two adopted children, Isabella, 8, and Conor, 6, and wants Cruise to pay child support. She also said she'd consider taking up residence with the kids in her native Australia or "elsewhere in the United States," but is remaining in Los Angeles near Cruise for the time being, until the divorce is settled in the best interest of the children.

Her papers note that the custody issue is "contingent on [Cruise's] agreement to communicate, consult and from time to time meet directly with [Kidman] as to all important issues affecting the children's general welfare."

Responding to the filing, Cruise's attorney, Dennis Wasser, says "Tom has been a gentleman throughout these proceedings. Nicole has always known exactly why the parties are divorcing. His children are his life and he will always provide for them and their security. Tom will provide Nicole with half of the community property consisting of tens of millions of dollars. Tom said to me, 'She is the mother of our children. I will always wish her well.' "

Kidman's court filing comes just a day after Cruise launched a $100 million lawsuit against a gay porn star who allegedly told a French magazine that he was Cruise's lover and the reason for the split between Cruise and Kidman. Cruise says he's willing to go to court to prove he's not gay. Meanwhile, the porn star, who goes by the stage name Kyle Bradford, has issued a statement denying he ever gave such an interview. "[I] have never said any of the statements allegedly said by me. The things being reported internationally are totally untrue and very hurtful to all parties," he says.

Once considered Tinseltown's most inseparable glamour couple, Cruise and Kidman met and fell madly in love on the set of the racing flick Days of Thunder.

As they weather the media storm surrounding their separation, the stars have thrown themselves back into their work. Kidman's currently making the publicity rounds for her upcoming musical, Moulin Rouge, while Cruise has wrapped shooting on Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky and is knee-deep in production on Steven Spielberg's long-awaited Minority Report.