Brooke Shields is revisiting her highly publicised fallout with Tom Cruise over postpartum depression — and his attempt to rectify his actions.
In her new memoir, Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old, released Tuesday, January 14, the 59-year-old actress gets candid about the Mission: Impossible star’s controversial 2005 remarks criticising her use of antidepressants, and the op-ed she wrote in response.
Surprisingly, she revealed that Cruise has since privately apologised to her.
The Blue Lagoon alum recalled that Cruise’s comments came after the release of her 2005 memoir, Down Came the Rain, where she shared her struggles with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, Rowan.
“I was, according to Tom, spreading misinformation,” Shields wrote, adding a sharp retort: “An interesting opinion, coming from someone without ovaries.”
Unwilling to stay silent, Shields published a New York Times op-ed defending herself and women facing similar struggles. “I was sticking up for myself, and for women who were suffering, against irrational and dangerous comments from an unschooled actor,” she wrote.
While her response drew attention to postpartum depression, it also ignited backlash against Cruise, who Shields revealed later apologised — though not publicly.
“It wasn’t the world’s best apology, but it’s what he was capable of, and I accepted it,” she shared, noting the conversation took place at her home.
