Sunday, July 1, 2012

The Demise of Tom and Katie: Cruise or Damage Control to Follow?

Article first published as The Demise of Tom and Katie: Cruise or Damage Control? on Blogcritics.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are breaking up. Is there nothing sacred anymore? The couple known as TomKat are divorcing after five years of marriage. I heard this as I listened to the radio during breakfast this morning. Since this was "entertainment" news, the next report involved the singer Adele confirming rumors that she is pregnant by divorced boyfriend Simon Konecki. Ah, isn't love grand?


After I heard this news and finished my Cheerios, I kept seeing the image of Tom jumping on Oprah's couch on her program when he professed he was madly in love with Katie back in 2005. This rather incredulous moment had me wondering even back then about Tom's emotional maturity. I mean, the last time I jumped up and down on the couch the Mets had won the World Series (and I was 10).

I feel like I have a connection to Mr. Cruise in what had been a rather bizarre incident. I was in Australia in 1999 and out to dinner with friends in Sydney. One of my mates got a phone call from a friend, saying that Tom and Nicole were having dinner around the corner in an upscale place and were leaving. My friends ran to see the stars and I followed, and a few moments later they were coming out the door, smiling for the cameras, and I took out my camera and yelled, "Hey, Tom!" Mr. Cruise, no doubt hearing the lone American voice, turned to me and I snapped the photo. Even now I think about it because they looked really happy, and we know how that turned out.

Anyway, in this case there is a child to be considered. I have my guilty weekly read of People (I swear it's my wife's subscription), and I have seen various incarnations of young Suri. She is always dolled up or conversely rolling around in the grass or eating an ice cream cone. My impression has been she is probably fairly normal, at least as much as she could be having two film stars as parents. In those pictures there was always her mother holding her hand and looking grim. I even joked to my wife that Katie doesn't know how to smile. Maybe now we know why.

There will be many rumors about the break up. Was there another woman or man? Or was it the pressures of Tom's chosen faith? The Church of Scientology (which boasts John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Anne Archer and other celebrities as members) seems to have caused problems for Cruise before. Ex-wife Nicole Kidman was raised Catholic, as was Katie Holmes, and both may have been worried about the toll it would take on a child as he or she grew in the faith (Kidman and Cruise adopted a boy and girl together).

Later in the day I heard more news on the radio (as I was driving). It seems there was a prenuptial agreement (Tom isn't as dumb as he looks) but that Katie could still get lots of dough for Suri's support. There is also the matter of Suri's upbringing, and it was mentioned that Katie wants sole custody, so Papa Tom is probably going to fight that. The word "ugly" comes to mind here, even though Tom and Katie are so beautiful looking.

As the days pass I am sure that Tom will seek his own brand of control (damage or otherwise). Perhaps (mind) control has been the problem all along. I know little about Scientology except that founder L. Ron Hubbard was a few cards short of a full deck. I know he believed in aliens being here long ago, and strange practices pevail to this day; however, some people tell me they think confession is a strange practice, and as a Catholic I think it's perfectly normal, so who knows?

Whatever the facts are we will find out, but for now we know that TomKat is no more. The one we should worry about here is little Suri. She is probably in for a bumpy ride for the rest of her life. Her parents should know better, but in the world of Hollywood it seems no one ever does.

Photo Credits: Tom Cruise-oprah.com; Suri-fanpop.com

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