Weird Things Everyone Just Ignored About Tom & Katie's Marriage

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' romance was the definition of a whirlwind. A mere 18 months after they met, the Hollywood power couple was already married with a child. For just about any couple, that would be moving fast, let alone for two high-profile celebrities. During this fast-paced courtship, Cruise also had two viral gaffes with his bizarre Oprah appearance and tense on-air fight with Matt Lauer live on Today that sparked a renewed public interest in Cruise's involvement with Scientology. 

Of course, the tabloids intensely focused on Holmes and Cruise's relationship as well, reporting every public outing and scandalous rumor with the same level of breathless detail. As a result, some of the stranger aspects of this star-crossed pairing got lost in the shuffle. While it's apparent in hindsight that this marriage was challenged from the start (we'll get into Holmes' meticulously planned exit strategy a bit later), it only got weirder as it went on. Let's take a look back at some of the strangest moments in TomKat history that everyone just ignored. 

Suri Cruise was born on April 18, 2006, seven months before Cruise and Holmes officially tied the knot, so this weird moment technically occurred before the marriage, but it counts, because it involves Cruise performing sonograms on his bride-to-be. That's right, in his interview with Barbara Walters for her Most Fascinating People of 2005 special, Tom revealed that he bought a sonogram machine, which he planned on donating to a hospital when they were done with it. 

Granted, as of this writing, fetal heartbeat monitors have become fairly commonplace for in-home use, but it's still not a normal part of any pregnancy to be conducting at-home sonograms or ultrasounds. Not to mention, the actor's ties with Scientology had everyone wondering what he was specifically looking for. Did he think he could tell if his child would be the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard? Who knows, but doctors weren't exactly fans of Cruise's ultrasound tech tourism, citing concerns over the misinterpretation of a problem as well as "that the fetus could be exposed to a greater intensity of sound waves than recommended." 

In an odd interview with W, which read more like a passage about a crush from her teenage diary, Holmes passionately answered questions about her new relationship, insisting, "Tom and I will always be in our honeymoon phase." In hindsight, that statement carries significant irony, since the pair divorced, but perhaps even odder than Holmes' school-girl glee was in the presence of Jessica Rodriguez during the interview. 

Described by W as Holmes' "Scientology chaperone," Rodriguez sat quietly for most of the questioning, until reporter Robert Haskell finally got to the good stuff and asked Holmes about the public's skepticism of the couple's overt passion, as well as rumors that Scientology had been arranging matches for Cruise prior to their meeting. Rodriguez reportedly got out of her chair to deliver this stock response: "The truth is, we don't read that stuff because it's just rude," before steering the conversation right back to how very much and totally for real in love TomKat was. When pressed by Haskell about her apparent supervisory role, Rodriguez said, "Oh, no, we're just best friends..." The entire interview came off with the air of a politician politely spinning every topic back on message, and to top it off, ended with the delivery of a well-timed gift by Cruise — a Chanel diamond necklace for Holmes to open right in front of the reporter. Subtle, no?

With all the secrecy surrounding the Church of Scientology, it's no surprise that an epic prenuptial agreement would be put in place no matter who Cruise married. What is surprising is that Holmes father, who is a lawyer, put it together. Though that's pretty much all that's really known about the agreement, many outlets speculated on the specifics. Vanity Fair claimed that it "filled five bankers boxes." The Mirror reported that Holmes negotiated a sum of just over $50 million for herself and Suri. Meanwhile, TMZ said that "sources familiar with documents filed with the court," told them that the quickie settlement — which was arranged in just 11 days — didn't secure any kind of "lump sum" payment for the actress. Instead, Holmes reportedly received "$400,000 a year in child support," as well as coverage for all of "Suri's expenses, including medical, dental, insurance, education, college and extracurricular costs." 

Some allege Holmes' father knew the marriage wouldn't last, so instead of creating the potential for a nasty, protracted divorce battle, he offered terms so agreeable that Cruise would easily let Holmes walk away, while at the same time making sure his then-unborn granddaughter was taken care of. It's really not a bad deal when you think about it, because if TMZ was right, Holmes will essentially receive the same income as the president of the United States until Suri's 18th birthday.

If you're the kind of guy who thinks a suitable first date is sushi on your private plane, and then a few weeks later you're jumping on Oprah's couch declaring your love, then when it comes time for a wedding, it's going to be ridiculous. The lavish affair was held in a 15th century Italian castle, because we guess all the fire halls were booked up, but that's just the beginning. According to People, on top of the event's three-day itinerary, the wedding also included a five-tiered cake the size of Cruise's entire body; Holmes donning a veil that reportedly took 70 hours to create; and a fireworks display that made a 4th of July celebration look like a wet sparkler.

Of course, the illustrious nuptials were not without controversy. In actress Leah Remini's memoir (via E! News), which is essentially a scathing takedown of her time with Scientology, she described being a guest at TomKat's wedding, including one particularly strange anecdote about Suri's caretakers. Remini claimed that she walked into the bathroom and saw "three women, including Tom's sister and his assistant," looking at baby Suri, "who was lying on the tile floor." Unsure of what was going on, Remini was shocked to hear the women saying, 'Suri! Suri!' in a tone that sounded like they were telling an adult to get her s**t together." Geez, we get that being the flower girl is a big responsibility, but this seems like a bit much.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were just a few months into their relationship, but already engaged, when they attended his War of the Worlds premiere in 2005. That meant two things. First, there would be worldwide red carpet exposure. Second, this was a prime opportunity to crank up the PDA. Tomkat did not disappoint. 

According to MTV News, the elated couple made sure to give the press great angles each time they kissed, even repeating their smooches so photographers could get better shots. The amorous duo reportedly saved its biggest move for the fans —  the one in which Cruise dipped Holmes and planted one on her like he was a sailor returning from war instead of a 42-year-old actor making out with his 25-year-old fiancée — but the paparazzi certainly caught it too. Though their behavior was probably meant to prove to skeptics that their romance was the real deal, it looked more like watching your dad excitedly suck face with your new stepmom who was a few years ahead of you in high school. Genuine? Who knows. Awkward? Definitely.

While we're on the topic of creepy displays of affection, we have to bring up Holmes' 2010 serenade of Cruise during a benefit show for the Motion Picture and Television Fund. Singing "Whatever Lola Wants," Holmes slinked around the stage while Cruise pretended to reject her advances. Not only was Holmes' vocal performance a little shaky, but the choreography screamed high school production. The awkward scene felt less like the actual play and more like watching the star of the show force her little brother to help her rehearse. Mercifully, this was the only time they publicly performed a song-and-dance routine, although now that we think about it, a remake of Dirty Dancing where they could have reversed the lift at the end so that Holmes would have hoisted little Cruise over her head would have been pretty spectacular.

Before we get into Katie's almost cinematic exit from the marriage, we have to point out the strange coincidence that all three of Cruise's marriages fell apart when his wives were 33 years old. According to Perez Hilton (via the New York Daily News), that number is significant because the "Hubbard Association of Scientologists, was founded in Phoenix, Ariz., which lies on the 33rd parallel." We'll probably never know if there's any truth to that theory, unless we sign our own billion-year contract with the church. What we do know is that the way Holmes expertly slipped away from Xenu's star pupil was fascinating.

When most couples get divorced, it doesn't involve burner phones or secret meetings with three law firms in three states, but Holmes split from Scientology's golden child, so it could have gone haywire in many ways. In a move presumably designed to skirt a landslide of misinformation that the notoriously litigious church could have leaked to the press during drawn-out divorce proceedings, Holmes allegedly made sure everything happened fast. The aforementioned prenup was in place, leaving no room for alimony or child support negotiations, and with Holmes making no public statements against Cruise or Scientology, there was nothing left to fight over. That's probably why it only took 11 days in 2012 to negotiate the settlement, which is unheard of in most normal divorce proceedings, let alone a Hollywood uncoupling. Seriously, if their divorce was a chess match, Holmes played it with the mechanical perfection of Deep Blue.

Of all of the weird things everyone just ignored about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' marriage, perhaps the strangest was a rigid restriction Holmes inexplicably agreed to. According a source speaking to Radar Online, "Katie signed a clause in her quickie divorce settlement that prevents her from embarrassing Tom in various ways, like talking about him or Scientology, or publicly dating another man for five years after the divorce." Wait, what was that last part? "She's allowed to date, but she cannot do so in a public fashion, and she's not supposed to let any boyfriend near [Suri]," the source elaborated. If that's true, it's an absolutely bonkers arrangement, and it really speaks to how desperate Holmes may have been to end the marriage.

This supposed "dating ban" also led to a variety of shady situations in which Holmes and her boyfriend, Jamie Foxx, denied their relationship (which allegedly started in 2013) for years, despite getting caught in a variety of eyebrow-raising romantic situations, such as a particularly steamy canoodling session in a recording studio. As of this writing, neither Foxx nor Holmes have confirmed their relationship, although they did deny a tabloid report about their breakup and were photographed strolling hand-in-hand on the beach in Malibu. The good news? Those five years have come and gone, so we're presuming Holmes and Foxx can take their rumored relationship to the next level if they so choose.