It was in June 2012 that actor couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announced that they were divorcing after five years of marriage. Their daughter, Suri, was only five at the time and Tom hasn’t seen her since 2013.
It was reported this week that Suri, who turns 16 today, started applying to college with the help of her mother. Tom has nothing to do with this decision as he has no role in his daughter’s life.
Katie won full custody of their daughter and according to divorce papers, Tom agreed to pay her $57 million a month in child support.
Determined to get full custody
Suri hasn’t seen his father in a decade, even though he has visitation rights. When the former couple announced their split, Tom said he was extremely saddened by the situation. It was Katie who wanted a divorce.
Katie’s attorney said in a statement to People at the time that Katie, as always, puts her daughter’s best interests first.
At that time, Tom Cruise was here in Iceland shooting his movie, Oblivion. Sources disagree on whether Tom knew what was going on. Some believe it happened to him, while others say Katie certainly told him ahead of time, but didn’t agree to let him control when the divorce would be revealed.
It is believed that Katie intentionally filed for divorce in New York because there was a better chance of her getting full custody of their daughter. Judges in this state are unwilling to award joint custody when parents are in conflict.
By gaining full custody of Suri, Katie was able to get her out of the Church of Scientology, but Katie is said to be wary of this religious organization despite Tom having been a very active member of it throughout their marriage. . It is believed that at the time, Suri attended a children’s school affiliated with the Church of Scientology, and Katie would only have gotten her out of there if she left alone with custody.
See how it went for Nicole Kidman
Katie was worried after Tom Cruise divorced his first wife, Nicole Kidman, but after that divorce, Nicole and Tom’s children turned their backs on their mother. Katie wasn’t going to let this happen to her and Suri.
A source believed to be close to Katie said the actress was opposed to Suri being raised in the Church of Scientology like her father and siblings. “Katie is determined not to be left out of Suri’s life.”
It was in July 2012 that Katie’s attorney confirmed that the divorce had been finalized and she had been granted full custody of her daughter.
The former couple then released a joint statement in which they said they were determined to work together to raise Suri with her best interests at heart. They said they wanted to keep their family life out of the spotlight and intended to respect each other’s religious freedom and support each other in their parenting roles.
According to TMZ, Tom was given plenty of visitation rights, but it was said that at their colony there was a special agreement about what Tom and Katie could tell Suri about religion, including the Church of Scientology. .
Tom could not take Suri to any Church of Science events and did not have to attend Church of Science school.
Despite the above, Tom has not used his visitation rights since 2013. However, he has a close relationship with his two other children, who he had with Nicole Kidman, but they are both in the Church of Scientology. Nicole hasn’t spoken to Tom in almost 20 years.
Tom claimed work kept him away from Suri
Author Samantha Domingo told Us Weekly that Tom was banned from interacting with his daughter because she was standing outside her church. In the eyes of the church, Suri is not her daughter. However, Tom denied that it was his faith that kept him from communicating with his daughter.
He sued Touch magazine in 2013 for claiming he abandoned his daughter. In court, he claimed it was because of his workload that he couldn’t find time to see his daughter. He would have shot a film in London and could not have done it. However, he would have called her every day.
Daily mail is now referring to sources who say Suri is heading to study fashion in New York.
The Church of Scientology leader described in a 2016 interview with DailyMail how the church controlled the couple’s lives during their marriage.
Katie must have feared that if her daughter Suri, now 10, grew up in the Church of Scientology there would be a good chance she would turn her back, but Church of Scientology rules state that members may not be in touch with those who have left the congregation. It doesn’t matter if they are the person’s parents.
See also:
Moving forward and shedding new light on one of the world’s most famous divorces
