Naomi and Nicole: Best friend betrayal

Nicole and Naomi’s special friendship is no more, as envy and mistrust rip them apart.

Hollywood can be a rough place. Actors are warned to trust no-one, and many report never knowing who their real friends are. That’s why it was so refreshing to see Australian actresses Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman, who met at a casting call 31 years ago, share a genuine, lasting friendship.

But sadly, even their relationship has ended, after the pressures of life on the A-list finally became too much. Now the Aussie superstars are at each other’s throats in a public war of words that has shocked those closest to them. Drifting apartRumours of a falling out first surfaced in February, when Nicole claimed she was too busy to take part in a 60 Minutes segment honouring Naomi for her Oscar-nominated role in The Impossible, a once-in-a-lifetime performance set amid the tragedy of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

But last week, Naomi made their rift public when she took a swipe at actresses who have used Botox to stay looking young – something Nicole has previously admitted to. “Most of the characters I play are going through some kind of emotional turmoil, so my job requires me to have expression. If my face was frozen, what right do I have to play that part?” she sniped to Good Health magazine.

“All the women who haven’t done anything to their faces are still able to play great roles. And some of the ones who have done something have messed it up – they look freakish.” Understandably, Nicole did not take the comments well. One friend described her as “a mixture of livid and hurt”, but multiple sources close to Nicole and Naomi say this is just the latest blow, with the recent Oscar awards pinpointed as the moment Nicole and Naomi’s almost lifelong friendship finally dissolved.