Katie Holmes blindsided Tom Cruise with divorce to 'protect' their daughter Suri

08 June 2023 , 18:30

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MAIN Katie Holmes blindsided Tom Cruise with their divorce to 'protect' their daughter

Katie Holmes is a Hollywood veteran, having soared to fame in the late nineties thanks to her role as Joey Potter on the smash-hit television series Dawson's Creek.

And with the 44 year old actress set to discuss her life in the spotlight with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins in a special panel at the Tribeca Film Festival 2023, it will be interesting to see whether she will reflect on her marriage to Tom Cruise.

After all, Katie's marriage to the Top Gun actor, which lasted from 2006 to 2012, was the talk of the town and dominated media headlines and magazine covers at the time.

The pair also welcomed daughter Suri Cruise, who was born in April 2006. After Katie and Tom parted ways six years later, the actress granted primary custody of their daughter.

However, Mission Impossible star Tom admitted he was left "blindsided" by Katie's divorce filing, telling German TV network ProSieben in 2013: "I didn't expect it." Despite being shocked by the split, he added: "Life is a tragicomedy. You need to have a sense of humour."

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Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's six-year marriage dominated headlines across the globe (WireImage)

At the time, it was heavily reported that Katie decided to leave Tom because she wanted to "protect" their daughter Suri because she reportedly had concerns about the actor's Scientology faith.

Cruise became a Scientologist after being introduced to the organisation by his first wife, Mimi Rogers.

During his deposition for his $50 million defamation case against Bauer Media in 2012, whose magazines claimed he abandoned his daughter, Suri, the Hollywood star was left fuming when asked if Holmes left him "in part to protect Suri from Scientology."

Katie reportedly had concerns about the actor's Scientology faith (WireImage)

Stating that he found the question "offensive," Tom elaborated: "There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion."

However, when lawyers asked him whether his ex-wife Katie had left him because of Scientology or because she wanted to protect her from the religion, he responded: "Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes."

The following year he settled the lawsuit, with a joint statement from attorneys for Cruise and Bauer reading: "Bauer Publishing, as well as In Touch and Life & Style magazines, never intended to communicate that Tom Cruise had cut off all ties and abandoned his daughter, Suri, and regret if anyone drew that inference from anything they published."

It was reported Katie made the decision to leave to "protect" their daughter Suri (WireImage)

In 2018, it was alleged by InTouch Weekly that despite Tom being allowed to see his daughter on ten days out of every month, he had not had any contact with her in years.

"Every person is allowed to see their child if they wanted to. He chooses not to because she is not a Scientologist," a source told the publication.

Katie was Tom's third wife. After his divorce from Rogers in 1990, he wed Nicole Kidman, with the pair going on to divorce in 2001.

Jabeen Waheed