EXCLUSIVE: How Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's Brutal Break-Ups and Reiner Massacre Have Brought Former Hollywood Power Couple 'Back Together'
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are said to be bonding once again.
Feb. 22 2026, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Exes Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are said to have reconnected in the wake of brutal personal upheavals and the shocking murder of close friends Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner – a tragedy RadarOnline.com can reveal has drawn the former Hollywood power couple back into contact 25 years after their divorce.
Cruise, 63, and Kidman, 58, who were married for a decade before splitting in 2001, were once among the most high-profile couples in the industry and adopted two children together – daughter Isabella Jane, now 33, and son Connor, 31.
Shared Grief Ignites Reunion for Cruise and Kidman
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman reconnected following the tragic deaths of Rob and Michelle Reiner.
During their marriage, Cruise starred in A Few Good Men in 1992, directed by Rob Reiner, forging a close friendship with the iconic director and his photographer wife Michelle Reiner. According to sources, the couples socialized frequently and shared key life milestones, including raising children around the same time.
An insider told us, "Back when Tom and Nicole were still very much in love and building their life together, they spent a huge amount of time with Rob and Michelle. It wasn't just the occasional dinner – they vacationed together, celebrated holidays, and leaned on each other through the ups and downs of early parenthood. As couples, they were incredibly aligned in their values and ambitions, almost moving in parallel both personally and professionally.
"Tom and Nicole's relationship really took off around the same period that Rob and Michelle were solidifying theirs, and there was this shared sense of momentum.
"They were all navigating fame, family, and creative careers at the same time, welcoming children within similar timeframes and figuring out how to balance public life with private commitments. That created a deep bond between them."
The source continued: "Nicole and Tom were genuinely invested in Rob and Michelle's happiness. They championed them as partners and as parents. Tom, in particular, held Rob in enormous esteem – not just as the director who guided him through A Few Good Men, but as a mentor and someone he deeply admired as a storyteller and human being. That admiration never diminished, even after Tom and Nicole divorced."
Brutal Killings Send Shockwaves Through Hollywood Circle
Authorities found Rob and Michele Reiner dead in their Brentwood home after a violent attack.
When the news broke about what happened to Rob and Michelle, it hit them like a shockwave.
"The horror of it has shaken them to their core," the source said. "That, and their recent break-ups, has forced them to confront not only the loss of two dear friends but also the memories of a time in their lives when they were all closely intertwined. It's left both of them deeply unsettled and grieving in ways they didn't expect."
Rob, 77, and Michelle, 72, were found slaughtered at their Brentwood home in Los Angeles on December 14, having suffered multiple knife wounds.
Their daughter Romy, 28, discovered the bodies, and hours later their disturbed, drug-abusing son Nick, 32 – who has struggled with addiction and schizophrenia – was arrested and charged with their murders. He has not entered a plea and is due to appear in court later this month.
Personal Crossroads Add Emotional Weight
The grieving actors shared memories of their early parenthood and life milestones with the Reiners.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A family friend said, "As soon as Tom and Nicole heard the terrible news about their old friends, there was no hesitation on either side. Tom made contact, Nicole responded, and whatever distance had existed between them simply didn't matter in that moment. They may have ended their marriage decades ago, but shared grief has a way of dissolving old boundaries and reminding people of what once connected them.
"An event this devastating forces a kind of clarity. When you are confronted with something so violent and senseless, the grudges, misunderstandings, and years of silence suddenly seem trivial.
"It has shifted their perspective. The focus is no longer on what went wrong between them, but on honoring their friends and supporting the Reiner family through an unimaginable loss."
Cruise's recent split from Ana De Armas, 37, and the conclusion of the Mission: Impossible franchise – which began in 1996 and recently marked its 30th anniversary – have left him at what one associate described as a "huge life crossroads."
Kidman, meanwhile, has endured what friends describe as a painful period after divorcing singer Keith Urban, 58.
A source said, "The last few years have taken an enormous emotional toll on Nicole. She also recently lost her mother, which completely upended her sense of stability – it was a profound shock that she is still trying to process. Grief like that does not simply fade, and she has been carrying it quietly while continuing to work and show up for her family. Then, unexpectedly, she went through a divorce, which felt like another seismic blow at a time when she was already vulnerable."
Shared grief dissolved the old boundaries and distance that existed between the exes for 25 years.
Now, on top of all that, to lose two close friends in such a violent and deeply disturbing way – allegedly at the hands of their own son – has compounded everything. "It is almost more than one person should have to absorb in such a short span of time.
"Nicole is totally emotionally exhausted. Being able to reconnect with Tom, to share memories of the Reiners and perhaps spend time with their children in a supportive, familiar environment, could offer her a sense of grounding. Right now, she needs light and reassurance, and revisiting that chapter of her life in a healthy way may help her begin to rebuild some positivity."
Another insider cautioned Cruise and Kidman's renewed contact is measured rather than dramatic.
They added: "No one is under any illusion that they are suddenly going to revert to being inseparable or recreate what they once had. There is a long, complicated history between them, and decades of separate lives lived since their marriage ended. That kind of past does not simply disappear.
"But the fact that they are communicating openly, offering each other comfort, and revisiting shared memories without tension is significant in itself. For two people who have largely kept their distance for years, being able to have these conversations in a calm and supportive way represents real progress. "It may not signal a dramatic reunion, but it is undeniably a meaningful shift."
