While you might know Tom Cruise as the King of Mission Impossible, there is a lot more
to him than meets the eye. For one thing, Tom is a father to three children, and as a result
of his commitment to Scientology, the actor only has a relationship with his two adopted children
who followed their father in his footsteps in the faith. However, the actor confessed that
he hadn't seen his youngest daughter, Suri, in almost three years. Is it possible that Tom's
commitment to his faith and divorce from Katie Holmes led to a strained relationship with Suri?
Stay tuned to Rumor Juice while we take a deep dive into what Tom
Cruise is really like as a parent. Don't forget to hit that notification bell too!
Like any doting father, Tom was ecstatic about becoming a father to his first child with Katie
Holmes. In fact, he was so excited about Suri's birth that he reportedly bought his
own ultrasound machine so that he could see her every day. The machine cost a whopping $200,000,
but let's be honest, for Cruise, that was probably just loose cash in his wallet.
He seemed to understand that the purchase was on the lavish end,
as he reassured fans that the machine would be donated to a hospital after Katie gave birth.
Tom and Katie welcomed Suri into their lives in 2006. The cruise was the ever-doting father, awash
with pride over their new bundle of joy. The actor described his daughter's birth as extraordinary.
"It was everything that we wanted it to be. ... It was spiritual.
It was powerful. It was indescribable." He gushed over his newborn daughter.
The new parents showed Suri off to the world on the cover of Vanity Fair
magazine and also explained the meaning behind their daughter's special name.
"We had the name before we found out the gender of the baby because we both thought the baby
would be a girl," Cruise told Vanity Fair. He said their daughter's name meant "red rose."
They were so happy with becoming parents when Katie was asked if she would have more;
she responded, "maybe in a couple of years,"
adding that she really just wanted to focus on Suri at the moment.
However, while Cruise was swooning over his new daughter, his marriage
to Katie was beginning to crumble. While the couple had been engaged back in 2004,
Holmes admitted that she had once fantasized about marrying Tom. So when whispers of a rocky
marriage began to spread like wildfire, it's no doubt that it came as a huge surprise to fans.
Of course, we couldn't forget the iconic moment of Tom jumping on Oprah Winfrey's couch,
confessing his love to Katie when they had only been dating for a few months.
Cruise said, "I'm in love. I'm in love and it's one of those things where you want to
be cool, like, 'Yeah I like her'… that's not how I feel." He added,
"I wanted to meet this person and I met her and she's extraordinary."
Naturally, everyone became obsessed, and Tom and Katie were the new 'it' couple of Hollywood.
Fast-forward a few years, and Holmes found herself
walking away from the very marriage she once said she had once dreamed about.
Despite the fact that Katie had shared that she was converting into Scientology in 2005,
before the birth of their daughter, it turns out that religion was at the center of their split.
In June of 2012, Holmes' team released a public statement,
revealing that she was planning to divorce her husband and had already filed the papers.
Tom was left shocked, and it was alleged that he had no idea that Katie was planning to leave him,
"I didn't expect it." He confessed, "Life is a tragicomedy. You need to have a sense of humor."
According to reports, lawyers reached a very quick settlement only 11 days after the divorce
was filed. Naturally, it was very surprising news considering most Hollywood divorces took
years and were incredibly messy. Katie received primary custody of then 6-year-old Suri,
and Tom was granted visitation rights. According to reports,
this meant that Cruise was told he could only visit Suri up to 10 days a month.
It seemed as though Tom was the perfect doting father up until the divorce was finalized.
While the former couple has given no information as to why they chose to part ways,
during one candid interview, Tom accidentally let some information slip.
The actor confessed that one of the main reasons Katie wanted a divorce
was reportedly to "protect" their daughter, Suri, from Cruise's religion, Scientology. The
admission came out during his deposition during a libel lawsuit he filed against a tabloid.
However, Tom adamantly assured that "there is no need to protect my daughter from my religion."
Cruise also admitted that Suri and her mother were no longer practicing members of the religion.
In the eyes of the Church of Scientology,
this would mean that Suri and Katie were both deemed "suppressive persons,"
and the church discouraged their members from being in contact with people of that label.
Despite the fact that the custody agreement between Tom and Katie made it clear that he
could see their daughter, it seems as though the actor wasn't making much of an effort to see her,
and his religion was allegedly to blame.
An insider close to the former couple shared, "Every person is allowed to see
their child if they wanted to. He chooses not to because she is not a Scientologist."
While it's never been confirmed that his religion was preventing him from
having a relationship with Suri, Katie had never commented on the situation.
However, there were some skeptics that alleged that Holmes signed a document
agreeing not to speak badly of the religion in order to get full custody. Perhaps Katie did
anything and everything in her power to make sure she got full custody of their daughter.
An outspoken critic of Scientology Tony Ortega said,
"She wanted to get away and she wanted to get Suri."
Things didn't get any easier for Tom the following year. In 2013, he admitted that he hadn't seen his
youngest child for at least 100 days, blaming his complicated and busy filming schedule.
In fact, one of Cruise's representatives claimed that the then 7-year-old seemed just fine without
her father. After sharing that he's "very good" at talking to his daughter on the phone,
Cruise added, "I also find that, you know, Suri is a very happy child,
and confident, and has a good sense of herself."
After news spread that Tom had missed Suri's first day of school,
the actor explained that it was because his daughter didn't ask him to be there herself.
This only made people more skeptical about his role as a father.
How could he have expected his young daughter to ask him to be there for her big day?
Surely he would have wanted to be there regardless of whether she had asked him or not?
While Tom Cruise might have tried to come up with all the reasons why he didn't see Suri
for over three months, it only got worse from there. In 2016, In Touch Weekly reported that
Cruise had not seen or exchanged words with Suri in over two and a half years.
A close insider revealed that Tom and Suri had been using video chat and text messaging to stay
in touch, but it had slowly started to die down to the point of silence. The insider also added
that Suri no longer believed any of her father's excuses for not being able to show up in person.
"He uses his film commitments as an excuse,
but the truth is that doesn't hold much weight with Suri anymore." The insider confessed.
Some still firmly believe that Cruise's religion is the reason why he's strayed away from his
daughter. The same insider explained, "He's disconnected from Katie, and then
de facto from Suri, because of her connection to Katie. He hasn't seen her since she was 7."
While it seems Tom hasn't made much of an effort to see his youngest daughter;
it was alleged that the actor never meant to be so far removed from Suri.
It was reported that even though Cruise isn't with Suri on important days like her birthday,
he's always planning for them by sending her gifts and calling her.
One of Tom's close friends shared some insight on the complicated situation and explained that the
actor still loves his daughter and has a very special place for her in his heart. However,
being this distant from his daughter wasn't something he had ever expected
when he and Katie had welcomed their daughter into their lives.
The friend explained, "Tom never intended to be estranged from his daughter when he
decided to have a family with Katie and looks forward to repairing the relationship one day."
Neither Tom nor Katie have ever publicly commented on their co-parenting methods, but it seems like
Holmes is doing most of the parenting herself. The last picture of Tom and Suri was snapped
way back in 2012 during a visit to Disneyland; since then, they've never been spotted together.
It's not known whether Tom will ever step up and be a father figure to Suri, but we can only hope
that he will someday find his way back to her. It's surely not going to be an easy road ahead
to make up for all their lost time, but it's never too late. As for what we can see, Suri is growing
up to be a beautiful young woman, and we hope that Tom will be there to watch his daughter blossom.