‘HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME, RUSSELL?’
It’ s a friendship no-no! The actress is livid as herb es tie chooses Tom over her
When an established couple splits, mutual friends inevitably end up taking sides. And in the case of Nicole Kidman’s divorce from Tom Cruise in 2001, Russell Crowe declared his allegiance to longtime confidante Nicole.
But after more than a decade of shunning Tom out of respect for the Oscar-winning Aussie actress, Kiwi-born Russell has committed the ultimate betrayal. Not only is he working with Tom, 54, on new film TheMummy, but the men will also team up on the red carpet for its premiere in Nicole’s hometown of Sydney this month.
“She can’t stand the thought that her best buddy is going to be hanging out with the person she loathes more than anyone,” tells a friend. “Talk about a slap in the face!”
Nicole, 49, and Russell, 53, bonded when they were both struggling actors trying to make it big in Hollywood, and have stayed close through their personal setbacks. During Nicole’s marriage to Tom in the ’90s, Russell struck up a friendship with the TopGun actor – he even converted Tom into a fan of his South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team and they were seen together at games. But when Tom’s marriage soured, so did the bromance. Russell even joked he had been banned from spending time with Tom in the fallout.
“I was really good friends with Tom from probably about ’92 or so until he got divorced,” Russell said. “When he got divorced, I was part of Nicole’s settlement, so we didn’t see each other.”
Although his comments were made in jest, it’s true the two actors have spent little time together since Tom and Nicole’s divorce. And that’s a situation Nicole – who loves Russell’s close bond with her daughters, Sunday, eight, and Faith, six – was only too happy about.
So the news that the two men were teaming up for a film really threw her, with the announcement that Tom will be flying to Sydney for the premiere only adding salt to her wounds.
“Nicole still feels scarred by the way Tom hurt her all those years ago and she feels totally betrayed by Russell,” says the friend. “She can’t believe he is being so insensitive and causing her so much heartache.
“When Nicole confronted Russell about it, he shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘It’s just work.’ He pretty much told Nicole that he thought it was time she moved on with her life and didn’t dwell on the bad things that happened between her and Tom. But she expects her friends to stay loyal.”
Nicole finds his betrayal even more galling considering it was revealed just last year that Tom’s beloved Church of Scientology questioned Nicole’s friendship with Russell in the lead-up to their split, allegedly tapping her phone for up to a month to learn more about her bond with the Gladiator star.
The explosive accusations – which Tom’s lawyers deny – were revealed in a book about the history of Scientology in Australia by journalist Steve Cannane. Despite the scandal, relations between Tom and Russell started to thaw when the Aussie-based actor accepted his role in TheMummy, which stars Tom in the leading role.
“To start with, things were a little awkward between the two men, but they bonded all over again and now they are great friends once more,” explains the pal.
Now, given how hurt Nicole is about this renewed alliance, and despite the fact she’s long moved on with her husband of nearly 11 years, fellow Kiwi-born star Keith Urban, friends fear it could be the end of her friendship with Russell.