When Katie Holmes shocked the world with her 2012 divorce from Tom Cruise, not even the mother-of-one could have imagined it would be the end of her daughter’s relationship with her father.
Sadly, there would be limited contact between their only child, Suri, and Tom after 2012, amid reports Katie had been each branded a “suppressive person” by Tom’s church, Scientology, as a result of
their defection.
Now, sources say the Mission: Impossible actor, 61, is worried his 12-year absence from Suri’s life is going to come back and haunt him.
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Following her 18th birthday last week, several media groups are said to be champing at the bit to be the ones to score Suri’s first interview.
“Suri would have been too young to sign any agreement, but she will now be free to talk if she wants to,” says Scientology reporter Tony Ortega. “And it’s going to be really interesting if she has something to say.”
Friends say Tom’s PR team are already “preparing for the worst”, knowing full well that just one sentence from Suri will get the whole world’s attention.
“It’s true. Suri could drop one line to a pap about her dad and it would be front page news all across the globe the next day. And they are pestering her for a comment,” reveals an insider.
“She’s not stupid though, and she isn’t going to throw away the only leverage she has on some random pap. Nor is she going to start slamming her dad or his religion for a one-time cheque from 60 Minutes.”
Suri’s seen how the split has impacted her mum’s career with sources adding that not many people in Hollywood are willing to cross Tom.
“The only Hollywood person not afraid of him was Jamie [Foxx], but not many are willing to burn bridges with Tom Cruise. Her mum went from A-list to barely working, and Suri’s not going to let that happen to her too,” says the source.
“She may or may not realise it, but what Suri does next can have a real impact on Tom – one interview could cause shockwaves.”
Katie, 45, has told friends that Suri was incredibly brave when Tom started distancing himself from her.
“This was a very public paternal rejection for anyone,” says a friend of the actress. “It’s a miracle, and a credit to the Holmes family that Suri’s not suffering from abandonment issues.”
Suri, who was five at the time of the split, really missed her father, with insiders adding that she struggled.
“It was hard for her to go from princess rooms with catwalks to a two-bed apartment, but worse was having her mum so distracted. It was a traumatic time for her,” adds the friend.
“Every birthday, Christmas, even Thanksgiving, she’d hope to spend some quality time with him, but by her 10th or 11th birthday she had learned to stop worrying about it.”
For now, the ball’s in Suri’s court as to whether or not she wants to try to see her father, which puts Tom in an untenable position.
“He can’t win on this. If he refuses to see her, she can moan about it in the press,” adds the insider.
“If he does see her, he’ll upset his church. And part of him fears some kind of reckoning day when it comes to walking away from his daughter’s life.”
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