Kidman 'shocked' by divorce

The couple are disputing the length of their marriage

Nicole Kidman has told of her "shock" at finding out her superstar husband Tom Cruise was walking out on their 10 year marriage.

The Australian actress begged Cruise not to end their marriage and later miscarried the baby she was carrying, according to court papers.

The written response to Cruise's file for divorce, confirms he was the father of the unborn child, despite previous reports they had been unable to conceive.

The world was stunned when the couple split as they were thought to have had one of the strongest relationships in showbusiness.

The court papers said of the separation: "This came as a shock to respondent (Kidman).

"On 24 December the parties had happily celebrated their 10th anniversary with a group of friends.

The couple starred in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut

"During the balance of December and thereafter the parties were intimate; in fact respondent became pregnant by petitioner (Cruise) but lost the baby through miscarriage."

Dispute

Kidman confesses she begged Cruise to stay so they could get marriage guidance counselling.

But, the papers say Cruise's decision was "final".

Cruise disputes that his wife, who he met while working on the film Days of Thunder, knew nothing about the split.

He is also claiming they split before their 10th anniversary.

Under California law a spouse must pay alimony until the partner remarries if they were together for more than 10 years.

Kidman is asking for joint custody of their two adopted children, insisting she will remain in Los Angeles for the time being for the sake of the children.

Her court papers say she would prefer to return to Australia.

In a statement, Cruise's lawyer said the Mission Impossible star intends to provide for his family by giving her half of their property of "tens of millions of dollars".