Ahead of celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary, Michelle Monaghan made a major confession about kissing Mission: Impossible III costar Tom Cruise.
Monaghan, 49, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, June 12, where she dished on what happened during her honeymoon two decades ago.
“We actually got married 20 years ago, right before I started Mission: Impossible III, to be honest, so it’s a great, great memory. My husband’s Australian, so we got married in Australia actually, and we didn’t have time for a honeymoon because we had to start filming, I think, three days later, so we flew back to L.A.,” she remembered.
Monaghan recalled getting her call sheet for her first day of filming. “Of course, as luck would have it, it’s an intimate scene with Tom Cruise,” she said.
She then had a conversation with her husband, Peter White, ahead of filming with Cruise, 62, for the first time.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, I cannot believe it.’ He’s like, ‘Baby, don’t worry about it. Just follow his lead. He’s such a professional,’” Monaghan remembered.
“I was so nervous about it,” Monaghan said. “I get up at 4 a.m., I dart out of the hotel, I forget my key, of course. And I go to work, and I proceed to have the best day with Tom and J.J. Abrams, our director.”
Later that evening, she arrived back at the hotel to tell White about her big day on set.
“My husband said, ‘Baby, how did it go?’ And I said, ‘It was amazing. It was so good.’ He was like, ‘Brush your teeth and tell me all about it,’” she said, sending host Jimmy Fallon into a fit of laughter.
“And so I said, ‘Oh honey, he was so sweet. It was a lovely day. It was so perfect,’” Monaghan continued. “He looked at me and he grabbed my arms and he goes, ‘How cool is it that you were making out with Tom Cruise on our honeymoon?’ I was like, you know what, I married the right dude.”
Monaghan, who recently portrayed scene-stealer Jaclyn Lemon on season 3 of The White Lotus, shares kids Willow, 16, and Tommy, 11, with White.
The actress said last year that she sometimes lets her kids watch films and TV shows she has starred in.
“It’s funny. I’d say yes and no; although they’ve been on set with me, they kind of understand,” she said during a December 2024 interview with L’ Beauté. “For example, recently someone told my 11-year-old son at school that Mission: Impossible III was their favorite movie, and he came home asking if he could watch it; my husband and I agreed, and more than that, he can’t believe how cool Tom Cruise is because he does all his stunts, so he just thinks I’m very cool because I know Tom.”
She continued, “And my daughter, I think she knows, but I don’t think she cares that much. To her, I’m just mom. When they see me all dressed up, without sweatpants or glasses, maybe they think mom is doing something important, but that’s about it.”
