Katie Holmes’s marriage to Tom Cruise is getting revisited because their daughter, Suri Cruise, turns 18 on April 18. While the Dawson’s Creek actress has remained silent about her divorce from the action star, the presumed reason was to keep her child out of the Church of Scientology. However, there may be more than one motive for her 2012 exit from their nearly six-year union.
While Holmes certainly had concerns about raising Suri in the controversial religion, especially after Cruise’s second wife, Nicole Kidman, had little say in daughter Isabella and son Connor’s upbringing, there was a specific move made by the church that reportedly unnerved her. According to Ron Miscavige, the late estranged father of Scientology head David Miscavige, Sea Org staff lived in their home to not only keep a watchful eye on the Hollywood couple but to also cater to their every need.
Actors Katie Holmes (L) and Tom Cruise attend The Cinema Society, People StyleWatch and J.Crew’s screening of The Romantics at AMC Loews.
“That didn’t sit so well with Katie, of course, and it hurt the marriage,” he told the Daily Mail in 2016. “She and Tom had big differences about the way life should be lived.” It created “an oppressive and controlling environment” for the young star and it was a catalyst for Holmes planning a strategic escape with the help of her father, Martin Holmes, who is also an attorney. Holmes’ fears aren’t unwarranted either because Kidman’s troubles with the church were revealed in the 2015 documentary, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.
Marty Rathbun, a former member and outspoken critic of the organization, discussed how he was ordered by David to “facilitate the breakup” of the former power couple. The head of Scientology didn’t love the influence Kidman had over Cruise, a sizable donor to the church, while they were filming Eyes Wide Shut. The Top Gun star reportedly distanced himself from David despite their close friendship. Rathbun alleged that an “aggressive campaign” began to rope Cruise back into the church and away from Kidman. Not only did it end their marriage, but Rathbun claimed that Connor and Isabella were “re-educated” by Scientology, which only caused a greater rift with Kidman. It was a scenario Holmes actively tried to avoid.
While Holmes’ divorce may appear to be simple from the outside, the layers to her secret exit were much more complex. And while the Church of Scientology continues to deny any allegations, it appears Holmes made the right decision for her and Suri.
