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Tom Cruise’s wife is leaving him.

A few days ago, Katie Holmes, the other half of TomKat, the mother of Tom’s only biological child, and the impetus of his notorious Oprah couch-jump, filed for divorce in New York. As Amy Argetsinger points out at the Washington Post, Holmes becomes the third Mrs. Cruise to jump ship at the age of 33 (which probably has some numerological-Scientological significance Beck would be able to explain).

About the only person surprised by this is Tom Cruise, who turns 50 today (he was born on the third of July).

Whatever went on behind closed doors, the Cruise-Holmes union seemed, to those of us following it obsessively at TMZ and Us Weekly, like a P.R. stunt. Holmes staggered through publicity appearances like a catatonic, while Cruise’s egregious and desperate determination to convince us that the relationship was legit comprised the worst performance of his acting career.

Let the record show that I’m a huge Tom Cruise fan. I love the guy. I became aware of him as an actor, as opposed to just a guy in the movies, when I went to see Interview with a Vampire. I may not like every movie he does (“Mission Impossible” is wretched, and “Vanilla Sky” is a train wreck), but I always like him. The guy is a movie star, plain and simple, and he’s been one for a staggeringly long period of time.

His personal life, however, is harder to get behind. It’s not so much what we know as what we don’t — or, rather, what we think we know. Yes, he’s a Scientologist … but what does that mean, exactly? Does he really believe all that stuff, or is Scientology just another high-profile acting job?

And then there’s the elephant in the room. The big, pink elephant.

The rumors have dogged him for decades now, since before he rocked out to Bob Seger in tighty-whities. That he wants to do it to for Johnny. That Mimi and Nicole and Katie were beautiful beards. That what he really desires is A Few Good Men.

If there is fire to be found in this great cloud of gay smoke, it would be remarkable. The guy’s been A-list famous since 1983, and there has been no public evidence at all, none, to support the rumors.

But if the rumors are true … if he does prefer the company of men … if his impossible mission is to be an openly gay action-movie star, his course of action now is clear: Tom Cruise needs to take a page from the Anderson Cooper playbook. He needs to come out, he needs to come out big-time, and when he gets hitched again, he should marry a guy.

That’s if he’s gay. (Note to the attorneys for Mr. Cruise: I am merely repeating oft-repeated rumors, and this should not be read as an endorsement of them). If he’s not — if the real Tom Cruise is exactly what he’s shown us — then take note, Mila Kunis and Eliza Dushku and Amber Heard and every other hot Hollywood 20-something on the make: Mrs. Tom Cruise is a plum part, and auditions will be held soon. http://www.salon.com/2012/07/03/the_gay_divorce_salpart/ knows? The one thing we do know is that Scientology pretty much runs Cruise's life. It appears "Tom's" choice of Katie was more than accidental:

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Like Nicole before her, Katie will now not just be Tom’s foe, but also considered an enemy of the Church of Scientology. When news leaked of the breakup, former high-ranking leaders of Scientology contacted me to say: “We told you so.” Since the beginning of the TomKat love fest, which began with the diminutive actor bouncing up and down on Oprah’s couch, they have known that the romance was as carefully choreographed by Scientology as his 42nd birthday party.

Kidman was toast the moment she said in an interview that she embraced a number of religions, not just Scientology. Given the fact that her father is a psychiatrist — deemed to be the mortal enemies of Scientology — she was already suspect. These public pronouncements put her beyond the pale. For the church’s most prominent poster boy, his partner had to be a Scientologist.

After Nicole, the search was on for a new partner for Tom Terrific. It didn’t take long. Sparks had already flown between the actor and his new leading lady, Penelope Cruz, during the making of “Vanilla Sky.” She was groomed as Kidman’s successor. He took the Spanish actress to Scientology’s Celebrity Centre in Hollywood and encouraged her to take a few courses.

While Penelope studiously read Scientology texts and attended auditing courses — the equivalent of a confessional — she was never really committed.

“I have great respect for all religions, but I do not intend to join any of them at the moment,” she said tactfully, but fatally for her chances of marrying the Scientologist leading man.

When their relationship officially ended in 2004, no one was happier than her father, Eduardo, who had secretly been in touch with an organization based in Germany — the most hostile European country to Scientology — which helps members of cults and their families.

After the Cruz breakup, the lovelorn actor turned to his best friend, Scientology leader Miscavige, for help in finding a new wife. The diminutive church boss, who has a notoriously volcanic temper, became irritated with constant calls from Tom. As the head of a multibillion-dollar operation, he felt it was below him to be seeking out women for the Hollywood star. He deputized his wife, Shelly, to take over the task.

The first girl she chose seemed ideal. She was a Sea Org member, that is to say committed to working full time for Scientology. The girl found herself “running into” Cruise, all the while thinking she was auditioning for a part in a movie. She dated Cruise a couple of times but then asked Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis, the son of actress Anne Archer, if she was being deliberately “set up.”

Her reward was to be told by Davis on Cruise’s behalf that the relationship was over. Then, according to friends, she was sent to a top security Scientology base and forced to scrub public bathroom floors with a toothbrush as punishment for messing up her assignment.

Tom gave Scientology leaders a wish list of women he would like to date. They included Jennifer Garner and the up-and-coming actress Sofia Vergara.

When Vergara got an invitation from Cruise’s friend Will Smith to attend a pre-Oscar party, she had no idea she was being set up. She was dazzled by Tom’s megawatt smile and amused by the blizzard of phone calls, flowers and chocolates that followed their first meeting.

It was not long before he casually suggested they head for Celebrity Centre where, surprise, surprise, Miscavige was waiting to layer on the charm. It soon became clear that she was being auditioned for the biggest role of her life — Mrs. Tom Cruise Mark III. It was made clear that if she took the part, she would have to renounce her Catholic faith and convert to Scientology.

“She was fundamentally terrified of Scientology,” a friend told me. “She sincerely believed that she would be struck down by God and burn in hell if she joined.”

Exit Sofia — running for the hills.

After that debacle, the church went into overdrive to find him a partner. They put out a casting call for possible brides, telling them that there was an upcoming Cruise movie they might get a part in. Former Scientologist Marc Headley, who filmed many of the auditions, recalls that first they rounded up Scientology actresses like Erika Christensen, Erica Howard and Sofia Milos. None was deemed acceptable.

They were looking for a woman who would accept the teachings of Scientology, but who would also look good on Tom’s arm — and not make too many waves.

“They had to look outside the herd, so to speak. They went for Jennifer Garner, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba, in that order. Jennifer and Jessica didn’t bite, but Scarlett took the bait and came in for an audition. When she arrived at the address and found out it was the Scientology center in Hollywood, she freaked out and didn’t do a tape.”

Finally, the Scientology casting crew hit on Katie Holmes, then 26, after they read an interview in which she said she would like to marry Tom. A senior Scientologist was sent to New York to give her the once-over. He liked what he saw.

She must have been thrilled. Ever since she was a little girl, she had told her three older sisters that she was going to marry Tom and live in a beautiful mansion where she would start the day by sliding from her bedroom into her own swimming pool.

Tom, meanwhile, was bouncing up and down — literally. Vergara watched their antics from a distance, and thanked her lucky stars. “She had a narrow escape,” recalled a friend. “She privately pitied the poor girl. Katie is a much weaker, more innocent person than Sofia.”

It had been only six weeks since Katie had broken off her engagement with actor Chris Klein, and now she was falling into marriage with a star 17 years her senior. Her family and friends watched in horror as they saw the normally vivacious woman turn into a Stepford Wife, silent, dutiful and stooping. She was now nicknamed “Dead Eye” Holmes, the young actress cocooned by Scientology handlers wherever she went.

Katie may now regret signing in June 2005 a comprehensive contract with Scientology. But the reward was a proposal on top of the Eiffel Tower and marriage in an Italian castle in November 2006.

In her rare interviews since, her responses are brief, guarded and inconsequential, endlessly repeating the numbing mantra that her life is “magical.”

But, hey, presto, the magic has worn off. Hollywood’s modern-day Snow White has woken from her dream. While she and her family face whatever hocus-pocus Cruise and Scientology try on them, the search will be on for Mrs. Cruise Mark IV. http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/best_supporting_actress_REdKcnpi
4xPjBFGO4Yjp4M/3 that it's important, I just can't find much else in the news that's of much interest, and I've had a morbid fascination with Hollywood stars attached to Scientology. They're weird; what they believe is even weirder; and they get a helluva hold over their followers. Apparently her escape was carefully planned, to keep her safe from the Scientology bunch:

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Katie Holmes cut off communications from almost all of her friends, switching cell phones and e-mail addresses, before pulling off a daring escape from Tom Cruise, according to published reports today.

The pretty “Dawson’s Creek” actress played all of her cards close to the vest, treating many of her closest pals on a need-to-know basis, leading up to her bombshell divorce filing in New York seven days ago.

Even when Holmes, 33, was away in China last month, her dad and closest pals were secretly pulling strings for her big flee for freedom.

"Her inner circle has been planning this and switching out cell phones since she was in China [in mid-June]," the source said.

"When new cell phones arrived, then nobody could reach her. Her old best friends from last week don't have her new number, no e-mail. She's unreachable."

Cruise knew his wife had rented a new Chelsea apartment in early June but the “Top Gun” actor didn’t know it was a piece of Holmes’ grand escape plan.

"[Tom] knew that she moved there, but [he thought it was] for different reasons," the source told People.

"She said she moved there to drive into the underground garage. There are fewer paparazzi and it's less intrusive for her," the source added. "It was the first phase of getting everything out of the house, and that's why she was able to say she's moving without giving an indication that she was going to divorce him."

Her dad Martin Holmes reportedly helped out too, firing some of Katie’s assistants and hiring new team members to assist in the elaborate scheme.

Katie and Suri have been holed up, under tight security, at their luxurious Chelsea pad. The two did get out briefly last night, with mom treating her little girl to ice cream.

The actress has told a neighbor she still fears that Cruise or his Scientology henchman might try to kidnap Suri, law enforcement sources have told The Post.

Katie fears she can’t take one step without a Scientology goon following her every move in a heavy- handed intimidation attempt, multiple sources close to the actress told The Post yesterday.

The pretty actress was holed up in her Chelsea pad. Holmes told another building resident of her abduction fear — and that neighbor called police on Friday, sources said.

But without Holmes phoning in the report herself — and Cruise known to be 2,600 miles away shooting a movie in Iceland — police couldn’t take any action.

Managers at Holmes’ plush Seventh Avenue building, though, have been put on alert for Cruise or any strangers who might want to get inside, the sources said.

Holmes, who filed for divorce from superstar Scientologist actor Cruise last week, knew this was coming, the sources said.

“Katie saw all the pressure. They [Scientologists] are professionals at pressuring people to be quiet,” said a friend of the actress after her bombshell divorce filing in Manhattan last week. “That’s why she did this [filed for divorce] in secret.”

A team of beefy armed men parked themselves in a white Cadillac Escalade outside Holmes’ place all day yesterday, snapping pictures of people outside the building and demanding to know who they were.

Cops finally pulled up in a marked NYPD squad car behind the SUV and checked out its Tennessee license plates. The officers said they were acting on complaints of “suspicious activity in a white Escalade” but did not elaborate. They spent about 15 minutes eyeing the SUV before leaving. At least two of the five men sitting in the SUV were clearly packing heat. When asked who they worked for, one wisecracked: “We’re waiting for a bus.”

Cruise’s first two wives, Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman, reportedly also had problems with the church’s hold on their then-husband.

Another former Hollywood wife, actress-photographer Carmen Llewellyn, who was married to “My Name is Earl” actor Jason Lee — a Scientologist — has said the reprisals are swift and brutal against spouses who leave mates who are in the church.

“I lost my manager and my career,” Llewellyn said in a published interview after her split from Lee. “People didn’t return my phone calls.

“Scientologists followed me down the street. They took pictures of my kids. They’d stake out my house, wait until we came our and follow us. They came looking for me to scare me.”

Holmes has witnessed Cruise’s other children undergo a weird “sec checking” interrogation, with the kids hooked up to a make-shift lie detector, according to TMZ.

She reportedly found the goofy ritual -- aimed at finding “areas of spiritual distress” -- troubling and didn’t want Suri subjected to it. http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/katie_holmes_secretly_planned_divorce_
j6H2NahwbMr4ScrFgcIMsJ?utm_campaign=OutbrainA&utm_source=OutbrainArticlepages&obref=obinsite]
You go, Katie — a Stepford Wife no more.

Katie Holmes’ nickname among friends was “Dead Eye’’ — an unflattering euphemism for the blank stare that’s glazed the starlet’s face since she was embedded as wife No. 3 to No. 1 Scientologist Tom Cruise.

Katie, 33, risked her cushy lifestyle, and possibly her safety, to launch an exit strategy from her loopy marriage to a religious fanatic — some critics say cult worshipper — who just turned 50. She did it for the oldest of reasons:

Katie was hellbent on protecting her kid.

Now, Katie has done more than rescue her flesh and blood from the clutches of a disturbed dad, and from a church she has grown to despise. She has revealed to the world the dark and icky side of Scientology, a faith that could thrive only in Hollywood.

She waited until Tom was filming a movie in remote Iceland before filing for divorce in Manhattan. It’s a no-nonsense place where she has a shot at keeping her daughter from Tom, a guy who had the gall to publicly ridicule Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants for the baby blues.

I never thought she had it in her.

When Hubbard died in 1986, the church of Scientology announced that he had discarded his physical body and was “on a planet a galaxy away.’’ In life, Hubbard taught that Xenu, the ruler of the Galactic Confederacy, brought billions of frozen people to Earth 75 million years ago, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. A human is an immortal spiritual being — a thetan — trapped on the planet in a “meat body.’’ Some of this knowledge is divulged only to high-level Scientologists.

If I’m simplifying the secret teachings, forgive me. The faith is even stranger than I have space to elaborate. This may explain why celebs from John Travolta to Kirstie Alley have taken to Scientology like strippers to a pole.

Katie took a gamble and fled, terrified that her hub was prepared to ship his progeny to Scientology’s Sea Organization, where, reportedly, children as young as 5 learn to be Dead Eyes before their time.

What kind of religion employs armed, SUV-sitting goons, which Katie feared were sent by the church, to keep tabs on the movements of the church’s best-known escaped hostage?

It took more than five years. But better late than never, Katie Holmes has become the most dangerous foe a twisted spouse can face:

She’s a mother.

Run, Katie run. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/katie_escapes_camp_cuckoo_LNUrQIFMX
P14XTx6t9tIbI?utm_campaign=OutbrainA&utm_source=OutbrainArticlepages&obref=obinsource apparently she's taking the Scientology threat seriously:

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Katie’s got backup — and she’s not leaving home without it.

Katie Holmes emerged from four days of seclusion in her Chelsea pad yesterday — her first public appearance since filing for divorce from Tom Cruise — surrounded by a pack of beefy security guards.

She flexed the heavy muscle amid fears she’s being stalked by Scientology officials because of her bombshell split from church member Cruise — and concerns he might try to kidnap their daughter, Suri, 6, sources told The Post.
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Holmes had quit going to her three-times-a-week Scientology classes at least 18 months ago. And about a month ago, she ditched her chaperone — Cruise’s sister, Lee Anne DeVette. She also rehired the publicist she had before she and Cruise hooked up.

Just before she filed for divorce in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday, Holmes fired many of her handlers — Scientologists, whom she considered “spies.” http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/scared_katie_goes_out_wit
h_new_men_92NfRHSKbtMqRDc0Ae7BdN?utm_content=Manhattan&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=OutbrainA&utm_source=OutbrainArticlepages&obref=obinsource

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Helluva cult, and to me that's what they are. I hope she pulls it off.

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1. If you are reading, and worse, posting on this board, that indicates
that you have your fair share of insanity and probably a bit more.

2. A crush is one of the worst insanities One can have. Even if One has
a loud & healthy intellect to count the reasons why One is not going with
this crush, that only lasts until the intellect can be made to shut up.
A crush is a law unto its ownself; & those who presume to judge another's
crush, may they please land in Crush Hell.

3. Given that we are All nuts, I prefer acceptance & compassion rather
than judgement about the Insanity of Others, especially folks we only
"know" from the BS News! The clear exception to this rule is Politicians
who clearly deserve merciless retribution, may they rot!

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