Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban Divorce: 'Vindicated' Tom Cruise 'Thinks' Singer Was 'More Of A Rebound'

They were the nineties' ultimate golden couple: he, the unstoppable action hero; she, the ethereal Oscar-winning actress. Their 11-year marriage and subsequent 2001 divorce became one of Hollywood's most notorious splits, with Tom Cruise publicly vilified as the villain while Nicole Kidman garnered widespread sympathy.

Now, more than two decades later, as Kidman faces the painful and public collapse of her second marriage to country star Keith Urban, the Mission: Impossible actor, 63, is reportedly feeling an unexpected sense of vindication.

Sources close to Cruise claim the actor has been closely following the news of Kidman's split from Urban, 58, who she married in 2006. The shock divorce filing by Kidman, 58, last month—ending nearly 20 years of marriage and leaving their two daughters, Faith, 17, and Sunday Rose, 14, in the middle—has reportedly elicited a response from Cruise that some might deem 'cruel': he reportedly believes 'karma' has finally come for his ex-wife.

This private reaction, coming years after he was savaged over their own split, suggests old wounds may never have truly healed.

The Complex Private Feelings of Tom Cruise Regarding Nicole Kidman

For years following his divorce from Kidman, Cruise bore the brunt of negative public opinion. Insiders reveal that he felt unfairly branded as the 'bad guy' while his former wife was universally portrayed as the victim.

'When Tom and Nicole split, he caught all the blame and she got all the sympathy,' one source stated. 'He was painted as the bad guy, and that stuck with him for years.'

Now that things have flipped, he sees it as karma coming back around. He's not bragging about it, but he definitely sees the irony.'

The dissolution of the once-revered Kidman and Urban union has stunned Hollywood. Friends of the couple have described the separation as 'one-sided' and 'devastating' for the Moulin Rouge! actress.

Rumours of marital strain had been building over the summer, notably after Urban reportedly grew close to guitarist Maggie Baugh during his recent U.S. tour. Subsequent reports have confirmed that Urban quietly moved out of their family residence in Nashville and is currently staying in a separate nearby property.

Despite having had no contact for years—they are understood not to have spoken since their 2001 divorce—Cruise has reportedly told friends he feels 'the truth' about Kidman's character has finally surfaced. A friend of the actor remarked, 'Tom was really stung by the way Nicole handled their breakup. She went on TV, made digs about his height, and painted herself as the victim while he stayed silent and took the hits.

Watching her face a public split now—especially with all the talk about Keith—he feels like people are finally seeing things from a different angle.'

Why Tom Cruise Feels Vindicated About The Split

Kidman's post-Cruise heartbreak was very public. Following the end of their 11-year marriage, the actress admitted she was 'shocked' by the sudden breakup.

Speaking in 2012, she confessed, 'I thought our life together was perfect. It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system... I would have gone to the ends of the earth for him. I was totally smitten – I fell madly, passionately in love.'

Despite the reported private sense of vindication, Cruise, who has maintained public silence on his ex-wife's affairs, is said to harbour mixed emotions about her current turmoil. 'Tom's not gloating about it,' another close source insisted. 'He genuinely sympathises with Nicole because he knows how painful it is to have everyone dissect your private life. Still, there's a part of him that feels vindicated. He's always believed Keith was more of a rebound than the real thing.'

After splitting from Kidman, Cruise went on to marry actress Katie Holmes in 2006, a marriage that ended in a high-profile divorce six years later. More recently, he was linked to Knives Out star Ana de Armas, 37, but that relationship also reportedly collapsed due to Cruise's intense commitment to his work and his expressed desire to marry too quickly.

For the man who took the public blame for the failure of his first high-profile marriage, the public unravelling of his ex-wife's second seems, to him, like a monumental, albeit delayed, shift in the narrative.