37. They Fought Back

In 1998, Cruise sued a British tabloid for alleging that his marriage was a sham worked up to cover what he was actually into behind closed doors. The suit was successful, but the tabloids didn’t back down, and continued to publish rumors about Cruise, his marriage to Kidman, and even allegations that he was impotent and sterile.

Every time, Cruise and Kidman would win the lawsuits, but it was like playing whack-a-mole. Whenever they’d beat down one rumor, another would pop up in its place—but the worst was yet to come.

38. It All Amounted To Nothing

After all the attention on the film’s more notorious and risqué scenes and the personal lives of its stars, it didn’t perform as expected at the box office. It was a crushing disappointment, but at least Cruise and Kidman had much to look forward to. After the long and gruelling work on Eyes Wide Shut, they were now open to take on other projects, and their tenth anniversary was approaching—but behind the scenes, Cruise was hiding something.