Infuriated in-laws, a controversial church, and a separation that took one of Hollywood's biggest
stars by surprise. Turns out the only mission that was impossible for Tom Cruise was marriage.
Of all things, it was an interview with Seventeen magazine that set things in
motion between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. After playing Joey Potter on "Dawson's Creek"
and getting engaged to actor Chris Klein in 2004, Holmes was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
When Deb Baer asked her about upcoming wedding plans, Holmes innocently admitted:
"I think every little girl dreams about [her wedding].
I used to think I was going to marry Tom Cruise.”
“And I thought, what a beautiful thing because maybe one day, it’ll be like that.”
Don’t worry Tom, it will be. Before Katie Holmes came onto the scene, Cruise actually had a rather
unusual way of finding love. As Maureen Orth reported for Vanity Fair, the Church
of Scientology had a way of vetting and scouting out women to fill the role of Cruise's girlfriend.
Although the exact behind-the-scenes workings of the Church of Scientology are unknown,
six months after the article hit the press, Holmes and Klein broke off their engagement.
Holmes was introduced to Cruise shortly after,
on the pretext that there might be a part for her in "Mission: Impossible 3." However it happened,
Holmes' admission of her childhood crush on that fateful day set the love train in motion.
Baer later lamented her interview with Holmes in an op-ed for the Huffington Post,
where she admitted that Holmes struck her as overly trusting and far too idealistic, writing:
"She was ridiculously easy prey."
Baer also noted that Holmes was young enough that she
was still easily "starstruck" and lonely, adding:
"Once Katie was firmly in Tom's clutches,
sometimes I'd lay awake at night, tossing and turning, realizing that the quote I'd
gotten from her at the first interview probably ruined the poor girl's life.”
After oddly insinuating he was going to propose to Holmes during his infamous couch
episode with Oprah Winfrey, you’d think it couldn’t get weirder. Well, it did.
When Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes in Paris in June 2005, he didn’t kneel. Instead of giving her
a traditional, kneeling proposal, Cruise gave Holmes a five-carat diamond ring by the famed
jeweler Fred Leighton. While it was a super fancy gesture, that wasn't the weird part.
In October 2005, just five months into their engagement, the couple broke the news that they
were expecting a baby. In an interview with Barbara Walters for her special "The 10 Most
Fascinating People of 2005," Cruise admitted that he made a big baby-related purchase, revealing:
"I bought a sonogram machine. I am gonna donate it to a hospital when we are done.”
He admitted that he was planning on performing the
sonograms himself. This news was worrying to many doctors, as a later article by NBC
News stated that such procedures should be performed by a trained professional.
Thankfully, all weirdness aside, everything went off without a hitch when daughter Suri
was born on April 18, 2006 in Santa Monica, California. There was one unusual detail,
though: Holmes had to deliver Suri in silence.
The unusual requirement hailed from Cruise's belief in Scientology, where founder L. Ron
Hubbard stated that words and sounds created by pain were harmful to both the mother and the baby.
While getting this far may've been a mission accomplished to Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes' parents,
Marty and Kathleen Holmes, were allegedly a lot more skeptical about the budding relationship.
When it came to Holmes and Cruise's 2006 wedding in November at the Odescalchi Castle in Italy,
it was rumored that her parents were going to skip
the wedding. Why? Because they were so disappointed in the pending nuptials.
The wedding was, unsurprisingly, a ceremony of Scientology. As the Mirror reported, some
of the vows were a little unusual, with Cruise allegedly saying to Holmes as part of his vows:
"Girls need clothes and food, tender happiness and frills, a pan, a comb, a cat."
While Holmes' parents may have been worried about Cruise himself; they were also upset about Holmes'
religious shift. Prior to her relationship with Cruise, Holmes was Catholic. She had dipped her
toes into the waters of Scientology, since it was a must-have in becoming Cruise’s leading lady.
Whatever differences her parents felt, they put it aside — at least for the rehearsal dinner and
ceremony — and stood by their daughter’s side for part of the celebration of love.
While Katie Holmes was blissed out after her wedding, people started to notice a change in
her during her marriage to Tom Cruise. No doubt, the stringent requirements of
a life in Scientology meant that Holmes was constantly monitored.
As Maureen Orth reported for Vanity Fair, Cruise and Holmes were always
surrounded by handlers, even in their own home. On top of that,
Holmes had to re-start her own life so it would fit in Cruise's world. Orth wrote:
"Holmes disappeared for a couple weeks after she and Cruise met,
and she distanced herself from old friends."
Orth also noted that in 2010, she sat with Holmes and Cruise at the White
House Correspondents' Dinner, during which the couple was bombarded by fans. When Orth asked
Holmes what it must be like to go outside with this kind of attention. Holmes oddly responded:
“Oh, we don't go outside very much."
Deb Baer, who interviewed Holmes for that infamous "Seventeen" article, wrote to The
Huffington Post of what she observed in Holmes throughout her marriage to Cruise, also saying:
"I'd see her on Letterman robotically calling Tom amazing for the 400th time and think,
that is NOT the down-to-earth girl I met.”
“I’m totally fine with that.”
“I could not live with myself.”
On June 29, 2012, Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise after five years
of marriage. The divorce allegedly caught Cruise off guard, who told the German network ProSieben:
“I didn’t expect it. […] Life is a tragicomedy. You need to have a sense
of humor. […] To be 50 and to have experiences and to think, you have a grip on everything,
and then it hits you: this is it, what life can do to you.”
News of the divorce landed right before Cruise's 50th birthday.
Despite Cruise's brave attitude, TMZ reported that both Cruise and Holmes
were seen wearing their wedding rings after the divorce filing.
Allegedly, Cruise's two children whom he'd adopted with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, Connor Cruise
and Isabella Cruise, stayed close by his side during the experience. A rep for Cruise stated:
"Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating
on his three children. Please allow them their privacy to work this out.”
Meanwhile, Holmes' attorney, Jonathan Wolfe, released a statement as well, saying:
"This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family. Katie's primary concern remains,
as it always has been, her daughter's best interest."
Despite the big changes to come in both of their lives,
reports aired that Holmes was photographed in New York looking happy and relieved.
After the news broke about Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's divorce, Cruise admitted that a major
reason for their divorce was Scientology. Radar got access to Cruise's deposition,
which was eye opening when it came to the actor's religion and the impact it had.
Lawyers asked Cruise if Holmes left in order to protect their daughter,
Suri, from Scientology. Cruise heatedly responded:
"Listen, I find that question offensive. I find it,
those statements offensive. Like with any relationship, there are many different
levels to it. […] There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion."
“I’m just telling you right now, okay, just, put your manners back in.”
When asked if Suri was currently practicing Scientology,
Cruise said that she wasn't. Jenna Miscavige Hill, a former Scientologist,
told The Hollywood Reporter that she understood Holmes' decision to protect Suri, saying:
"My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and at times
physically abusive […] As a mother myself, I offer my support to Katie and wish for
her all the strength she will need to do what is best for her and her daughter."
Holmes asked for sole custody of their daughter,
so clearly she wanted to make sure that she was in charge of parenting.
It was very advantageous for Katie Holmes that her father, Marty Holmes,
was a lawyer — and one who really went to bat for his daughter when she divorced Tom
Cruise. Marty wasn't the only lawyer on his daughter's side, but he was a key one.
Even before her wedding, Marty negotiated her prenup with Cruise. It was shrewd planning
on his part: because of Marty’s involvement, as Vanity Fair wrote,
when Katie announced her divorce from Tom Cruise, it was resolved in just 11 days.
Interestingly, though, Holmes didn't make out with as much money as one might have expected,
considering Cruise's estimated net worth of $600 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Cruise only gave Homes $400,000 a year for child support, which will end when
Suri turns 18 in 2024 — which, according to TMZ, will total $4.8 million. Cruise was also
made responsible for any other expenses, including medical costs related to Suri.
There was considerable speculation as to why Holmes settled for so little.
As CafeMom hypothesized, Holmes was able to maintain more autonomy in how she chose to
raise Suri — including schools, as it would give Cruise less control.
Had Holmes gotten more money from Cruise, he would have had more say,
which might have included an education prominently featuring Scientology.
After the divorce, Holmes moved to New York City with Suri. Friends
told InStyle that Holmes was a resurrected woman,
up for all that the city had to offer and eager for new adventures. Holmes herself added:
"I feel like I can be more creative and have more time, have my voice.”
Holmes also found love again with actor Jamie Foxx. The only problem,
according to Radar, was that Holmes signed an agreement in her divorce settlement that
she wouldn't date anyone publicly for five years following the split. On top of that,
Holmes was forbidden to introduce any new love interests to Suri.
Foxx and Holmes began dating in 2013,
but ended up calling it quits after six years. Despite the split, the relationship
was an emotional breakthrough for Holmes. She revealed to People magazine in 2014:
"I don't have any fear now, I don't have a lot of rules for myself,
and I don't take myself that seriously.”
“All right.”
“I’m a lucky lady.”
As far as Cruise's relationship goes with Suri, there's less evidence of a bond. In fact,
as Hollywood Life notes, Cruise and Suri haven't been photographed together since 2012. A source
told Hollywood Life in 2019 that Cruise hopes to rekindle the relationship with Suri, adding:
"As challenging as things have become for him and his daughter, he still loves her.”