How Katie Holmes Got Away From Tom Cruise and Scientology

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were one of the defining power couples of the 2000s. The reasons weren’t all positive, however. As with all of Cruise’s marriages, his time with the former Dawson’s Creek actor was something of a strange public spectacle thanks to his involvement with the Church of Scientology.
Holmes was distressingly quiet about her situation while married to the Top Gun star. Eventually, she had a dramatic split with both Cruise, and the clutches of the notoriously possessive Scientology leadership. While not all the details are public knowledge, there are a few shocking details out there about how Holmes got away from Scientology and her superstar ex-husband.
Katie Holmes was fully immersed in Scientology during her marriage to Tom Cruise
Actress Katie Holmes and actor Tom Cruise attend the “Valkyrie” film premiere held at the Odeon Leicester Square on January 21, 2009 in London, England. | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Holmes first mentioned an affinity for Cruise in 2004. A year later, the pair went public and were regularly seen together in Los Angeles. Holmes showed no overt signs of ties to Scientology during this time, but it coincided with her then-boyfriend’s infamous outburst on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her fans from her Dawson’s Creek days were baffled by the connection, but cautiously optimistic given Cruise’s status.
Things got increasingly odd from here. Holmes started turning down roles just as her career was taking off. She was pregnant by October 2005. She walked away from millions to reprise her Batman Begins role as Rachel Dawes, preferring to switch gears. While she didn’t walk away from acting entirely, her choices were increasingly limited and erratic.
According to The Daily Beast, her seven years in Scientology overlapped with a strangely curated period of films that nearly ruined her career. Instead of The Dark Knight, she went with the critically-derided Mad Money. She no longer gave her usual excitable interviews; she went so quiet that to fans, it felt like she went underground.
How Katie Holmes escaped Scientology
Holmes appears to be under some kind of NDA with the Church of Scientology. It’s a go-to strategy for the controversial New Age religion, which is noted for an “attack, don’t defend” strategy for dealing with its apostates. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Holmes was a victim of this very strategy, as she quietly made one of the highest-profile exits from the church.
But unlike Nicole Kidman, who found herself cornered by the church’s legal and public relations bullying tactics, Holmes had an aggressive strategy of her own. She blindsided Cruise by filing for divorce without warning. Then she hired high-powered attorneys — matrimonial and divorce specialists — in Allan Mayefsky and Jonathan Wolfe.
From there, she applied for sole custody of their daughter, Suri Cruise. She then tapped other ex-Scientologists for help with the PR war, including the niece of current Scientology leader David Miscavige. She also fired Cruise’s daughter Isabella (adopted during his marriage to Kidman) from working as her assistant, all as part of a strategy to clear the way for a fierce and sudden exit from the Church. And while she remains reticent to share the details of everything that went down, she got her way, including sole custody.
What is Holmes doing in 2023?
Holmes’ pointed strategy, buoyed by the increasing public backlash against Scientology, worked in her favor. After spending a year totally focused on her divorce and separation from the Church, she slowly began rebuilding her career. The one notable difficulty is that with her ex-husband still deeply loyal to Miscavige, Holmes’ daughter Suri Cruise is apparently estranged from her famous father.
Holmes returned to film by going for strong leading roles in thoughtful dramas. Long gone are the days of frivolously light fare like Mad Money. She’s also spending a great deal of time at fashion shows, as well as hitting Broadway. According to Broadway World, she plays a co-lead, alongside Eddie Kaye Thomas, in a heady marriage drama about an orthodox Jewish couple.
Her ex-husband may be in an improbable late-career resurgence, thanks to Top Gun: Maverick last year. But Holmes doesn’t exist in his orbit at all anymore. And now she’s taking on exactly the kinds of roles she wants to do.