Mimi Rogers, who was married to Tom Cruise from 1987 to 1990, has since lived a quieter life, competing in county fairs and acting.

Mimi Rogers, the Florida-born actress who was once married to Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, has led a life far removed from the glitz and glamour of their time together.

Though the audience is well aware of Cruise’s marriages with Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, his first wife, Mimi, leads a less public existence—she is even a farmer who sells hay grown on their farm for participation in the county fairs.

Mimi and Tom were married from 1987 to 1990. The couple’s union was relatively low-profile, with only two guests attending their intimate ceremony.

Mimi said that she rarely got intimate with Tom in the months leading to the divorce. Their sexual life dried because the Mission Impossible star was thinking of “becoming a monk.”

“Here’s the real story: Tom was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. At least for that period of time, it looked as though marriage wouldn’t fit into his overall spiritual needs. And he thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument,” Mimi told Playboy in 1993. She added humorously, “My own instrument needed tuning.”

Mimi stated, ‘Being married to Cruise didn’t boost my career’

The couple’s relationship began in 1985, with conflicting accounts of their first meeting. Tom, then 23, recalled meeting Mimi, 29, at a dinner party, where she was dating a mutual friend. Mimi, however, told the Sun Sentinel that friends set them up, believing they’d be a good match. They tied the knot two years later, calling their wedding day “The Project.”

While Mimi introduced Cruise to Scientology—a religion she grew up with thanks to her father, who was close to its founder L. Ron Hubbard—their spiritual alignment couldn’t save their marriage. “While there have been positive aspects to our marriage, there were some issues which could not be resolved even after working on them for a period of time,” they stated in a joint statement announcing their split.

The marriage ended just before Cruise began filming Days of Thunder, where he met Nicole Kidman, who would become his second wife. Mimi later shared that being married to Cruise did little to boost her career, noting, “Nobody hires you because you’re married to somebody famous—in fact, I think you’re tested a little extra because of it.”

However, “You cease to be an individual. No matter what the article is, it’s ”Tom Cruise’s wife …” she added.

Mimi stayed acting even after the divorce and got parts in The X-Files, Bosch, and Mad Men. She also had a talent for poker and soon began playing in county fairs. Mimi later married producer Chris Ciaffa, with whom she share two children.