Nicole Kidman has written about her relationship with Tom Cruise, saying being married to the "powerful" actor gave her "protection" from sexual harassment.
The Oscar-winning actress married Cruise in 1990 after meeting him on the set of Days Of Thunder, their first film, and they were together for 11 years.
While Kidman was just starting her career, Cruise had already achieved huge success with films including Top Gun, Cocktail and Rain Man.
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In a new essay for New York magazine's women and power series, the 51-year-old has written about her first marriage, as well as the #MeToo movement.
"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," she said.
"That said, I got married very young, but it definitely wasn't power for me – it was protection.
"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."
Following allegations made against producer Harvey Weinstein last year, Hollywood has been engulfed by claims of mass sexual harassment, with several high-profile actresses – including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow – speaking out.
Kidman, star of films including Moulin Rouge!, The Hours and Cold Mountain, said she did not want to write about her own experiences.
"Of course I've had #MeToo moments – since I was little! But do I want to expose them in an article? No. Do they come out in my work? Absolutely."
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Kidman and Cruise adopted two children, Isabella, now 25, and son Connor, now 23, before their divorce in 2001.
She went on to marry country music singer Keith Urban in 2006, and the couple have two daughters, Sunday, 10, and Faith, seven.
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