Katie Holmes Divorce: What Went Wrong? How Was Scientology To Blame? Why Sole Custody?
After some “nastiness,” Katie Holmes “blindsided” Tom Cruise by filing for divorce while he was out of the country in Iceland (she’s currently in New York).
They were photographed holding hands June 16, 2012 in Reykjavik where he’s currently filming. Cruise was photographed, again, wearing his wedding ring in Iceland June 22. Holmes wore her wedding ring in NYC as recently as June 27. She filed citing “irreconcilable differences” anonymously (without names) the next day. Lainey Gossip has a theory about this: “They’ve always said that Tom and his inner circle check pap photos when he’s away from her, just to make sure.” They would have checked, and they would have been fooled. Noted.
Moreover, the news was buried late in the week by her lawyer and it wasn’t a joint statement. Her statement said: “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.” Cruise, who sources say is “very sad” and “did not see this coming,” also has a statement: “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.”
There’s obviously contention and there’s a reason: their daughter together, Suri Cruise, 6.
Holmes is completely aware of the sour divorce of Nicole Kidman from Cruise in 2001. After which Kidman had negligible contact or interaction with the children Kidman and Cruise adopted together, Isabella Cruise and Connor Cruise. It was a brutal divorce, horrible, and Holmes would not want to suffer the same fate. And so, with the support of her family (also according to Lainey Gossip), Holmes readied herself and filed…which took stones, wherewithal, and resources, no one knew she had.
Holmes is asking for sole legal custody, “primary residential custody,” and a “suitable amount” of child support.
TMZ.com sources posit a few reasons why Holmes might NEED sole custody: to remain one of the decision-makers in her daughter’s life.
Katie Holmes filed for divorce primarily over Tom Cruise’s fierce ties to Scientology, fearing that Tom would drag Suri deep into the church.
Katie has never been fully committed to Scientology, even though she has had ties with the church. We’re told the couple had been arguing over Suri [now that she’s] of the age where Scientology becomes a significant part of her life.
Sources familiar with the split tell us Katie is filing for sole legal custody… specifically because she does not want Tom to control decisions relating to religion.
The divorce is NOT about money (their estate is worth about $275 million most of which is his).
Katie doesn’t need Tom’s money because she has plenty of it and she will be well taken care of under the terms of the prenup. – via TMZ.
A New York lawyer who phoned in to TMZ Live this afternoon (after the story broke) explained why Holmes filed in New York, rather than filing in California (where the marriage licence was filed and upon the laws of which the couple’s prenup is based). In short, to paraphrase, the lawyer said: New York is not friendly to joint custody in a bitter divorce; it favours sole custody when parents don’t get along to avoid a tug of war over the child. The city will side with whomever would make the better sole custodian and who would make the better decision-maker for the child.
Incidentally, Holmes’ father, Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr., also happens to be a divorce lawyer.
Lastly, as a reminder of Cruise’s indoctrination, here’s the Scientology video that leaked online in 2008.