Cruise will file a rival divorce case, lawyer confirms

Tom Cruise’s lawyer says the actor will file a rival divorce case but he will not reveal where.

Bert Fields also revealed he was allowing Katie Holmes’s legal team to “play the media” before allowing Cruise to tell his side of the marriage breakdown.

The news emerged after Holmes made her first public appearance — without her wedding ring — since her split from Cruise was announced.

Cruise was yesterday celebrating his 50th birthday alone in Iceland where he is filming scifi thriller Oblivion, but is said to be “devastated and heartbroken”.

Fields refused to tell BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat if Holmes had signed a pre-nup and added: “I would hope that it’s not a contentious matter. I know Tom is not a particularly contentious person.”

Holmes feared daughter Suri would be sent to a Scientology bootcamp by Tom, it has been claimed.

Children aged six to 12 chosen for induction into Scientology are sent without their parents to be taught the rules and undergo a rigorous security check, according to sources.

The Church of Scientology denied sending anyone to follow Holmes after she filed for the divorce. A lawyer for the Church also dismissed reports that Cruise — a prominent Scientologist — wanted Suri to join the Sea Organisation, described as a boot camp for the controversial religion.

“There is no truth whatsoever to the TMZ.com report (or any other report) that the Church of Scientology has sent anyone to follow or surveil Katie Holmes,” lawyer Gary Soter said.

TMZ also cited sources close to Holmes as saying she believes the Church of Scientology views her as a threat to the organisation, and has put a team on her tail in recent weeks.

On Monday, Holmes, 33, stepped out in New York, smiling and without her wedding ring, to film a slot for TV show Project Runway: All Stars.

Reports at the time of the wedding in 2007 said that under a prenuptial agreement, Holmes — who converted to Scientology — would get $3m (€2.4m) for every year of the marriage plus ownership of a California mansion if they split.

Rick Ross, a New Jersey-based expert on cults and controversial movements, said Holmes’s custody battle could hinge on whether Cruise decides to fight her for custody of Suri and how much information comes out about Scientology practices, which the Church may not find in its interest.

Ross said it was unlikely the Church would get directly involved in the custody battle as it could bring negative publicity, but he believed members could leak information to “intimidate or discredit” Holmes.

Lawyers say custody proceedings will differ substantially depending on whether they take place in New York, where Holmes filed, or California if Cruise can get the case moved to the state in which he resides.

In California, the courts presume joint custody, leading to a greater likelihood a judge would give both Holmes and Cruise the ability to make decisions for Suri.

“If the judge says they should have joint custody in California, then Katie would not have the ability to take Suri out of this religion altogether,” said a source.

In New York, the courts look at the best interests of a child and who is going to make decisions and care for the youngster.