After she defected from the Church of Scientology in 2013, Leah Remini found solace in none other than Nicole Kidman, whom she never met or spoke to — but has described in her new memoir as "my guardian angel."
Remini, 45, left Scientology after 30 years as a member, and her new book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, details the alleged events that resulted in her decision. However, it wasn't easy even after she defected.
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"During this confusing early period, I sometimes felt adrift," Remini recalled in her book. "But I had one figure I kept front and center in my mind to keep from going crazy: Nicole Kidman. That’s right, Tom Cruise’s ex was my guardian angel. Although I never met her or attempted to meet her, I thought about her a lot."
Days of Thunder costars Kidman and Cruise were married from 1990 to 2001. Following their high-profile divorce, the A-listers' adopted kids, Isabella ("Bella") and Connor, opted to live with their father.
The Moulin Rouge! actress eventually found love again with Keith Urban, whom she married in 2006. They have two young girls, Faith and Sunday. For Remini, this was solace enough.
"While I stared at the dark ceiling at night, unable to sleep, I would say to myself, 'Remember Nicole Kidman,'" Remini wrote in her book. "'She was declared an SP and left the church, and she’s doing okay. Her career is still going, and she has a husband and family… Just remember Nicole Kidman. She left and she’s okay…'"
In another part of the book, Remini claimed that Kidman was described as an "SP" — short for "Suppressed Person" in Scientology terms — by her very own daughter after Tom's 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes.
Remini, who says she was shocked by Bella's words, reportedly nudged the kids about the fact that Kidman was still their mom.
According to her book, "Bella scoffed and said, "'Well, she is [an SP].' Connor just looked out the window. There was something human about his silence and the sadness I felt in it."
The Church of Scientology, for its part, has dismissed Remini's claims about the religion as "revisionist history." You can read their full statement about the actress here.
Pick up a copy of Remini's new memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, on bookshelves now.
