When Katie Holmes ended her six-year marriage to Tom Cruise in 2012, the world was hanging on every detail — not just because the Hollywood golden couple had met such a swift and shocking end, but also because of his standing as a figurehead of the controversial Church of Scientology, which only added to the intrigue. In the years since, a seemingly impervious Tom has barreled ahead with his turbo-charged career, while Katie has settled into a quieter life as an actress and devoted mother to their 11-year-old daughter, Suri, earning a reputation along the way as one of the more dignified and down-to-earth stars in showbiz.
As part of her divorce settlement with Tom, Katie signed a confidentiality contract that forbid her to talk about their relationship or Scientology for five years, which partly explains why she has maintained a stoic silence about her time with the world’s most popular movie star. But with that legal deal set to expire in July, sources say that Katie, 38, may be considering penning a memoir about her life — and the long-awaited revelations could be so juicy that publishing insiders are predicting the book could fetch as much as $8 million!
“It does seem fitting that Katie could be ready to pull back the curtain once that confidentiality clause has expired,” a source tells Star. “For one thing, it must have been so hard for her to keep everything to herself through the years in the face of so much wild speculation. Now, it could be an incredible release for Katie to unburden herself by writing a memoir. It could be a huge relief for her, and Katie would be able to set the record straight once and for all. Also, Suri is remarkably mature for her age — and Katie may feel that she’ll be able to handle whatever might come their way.”
But it’s not just her marriage to Tom, 54, that would hold readers’ interest, the source adds. “All their fans are dying to know the real nature of her relationship with Jamie Foxx, and a memoir would be the perfect forum to open up about it. Katie has also dealt with whispers about weight issues through the years, and she might want to come clean on that important issue for women. Add in her early career remembrances from costarring on Dawson’s Creek, and you’d have a great read!”
WHAT WENT WRONG?
When it comes to her ex-husband, “I sincerely doubt Katie would paint Tom in too harsh a light; it’s not in her nature,” says the source. “But she might not hold back when it comes to the role Scientology played in unraveling their marriage. I think their union was already strained because he was constantly on the road filming his big-budget movies, and I’m sure loneliness was a problem for Katie. When you add in her concerns over his high-profile involvement in the Church — despite the fact that their November 2006 wedding was a Scientology ceremony and she ended up studying the religion — there were dark shadows on their union from early on.”
Another insider tells Star, “Katie could finally reveal what the breaking point was in their marriage. I think it was twofold: At one point, Tom’s close pal, Scientology leader David Miscavige, reportedly moved members of Sea Org, the Church’s top tier, into Tom and Katie’s L.A. mansion to monitor the family, which didn’t sit well with Katie — especially since Suri was nearing her 6th birthday, which is when she would have had to begin her Scientology studies. I believe that led to Katie realizing she wanted out of the marriage and wanted her daughter raised outside the Church, in late 2011. When she visited her family in Ohio that Christmas, it gave her the strength to go forward with that plan over the following half year.”
Katie was photographed visiting Tom on his movie set in Iceland on June 16, 2012 — and just 13 days after, she made her bombshell divorce filing in New York. She and Tom reached a divorce settlement in only 10 days, with Katie getting full custody of Suri plus the agreement that she would not be raised as a Scientologist.
“Strangely, it’s now been more than three years since Tom reportedly has seen Suri,” the source tells Star. “It may be that Tom sees Katie and Suri as ‘suppressive persons,’ which is what Scientology labels people who leave the Church. And according to Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ policy, members have to cut off contact with friends and family who are considered to be enemies of the religion. Katie may want to share her views on that if she goes forward with her memoir; either way, she’s a wonderful parent and has done everything in her power to give Suri the best childhood possible.”
JUST PERFECT WITH JAMIE
While she’s happy being a single mom, Katie hasn’t exactly been flying solo. Though the two of them have been doing their best to keep their relationship out of the public eye, insiders say Katie and Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, 49, have been involved in a low-key romance since connecting at a celebrity benefit party in the Hamptons in August 2013.
“Katie had been through the wars with Tom, so it’s perfectly understandable that she now prefers to keep her affairs of the heart private since then,” the source adds. “But Jamie’s attention and affection have had an incredibly healing effect on Katie after the pain of her broken marriage. He’s helped her find love again when she never thought it possible, and that alone could spark Katie to at least loosen up and acknowledge in her memoir the important and positive part Jamie has played in her life. Their relationship has clearly deepened with time, and while Katie’s perfectly content with the way things are between them right now, I doubt she’d ever give a definitive ‘no’ to tying the knot again in the future.”
YOUNG LOVES
While details of her relationships with Tom and Jamie would obviously be must-reads, Katie’s fans would certainly want to hear her open up about the start of her career (she got into showbiz after attending a modeling competition in NYC in 1996) and her earlier beaus — both actors, as well.
She dated Joshua Jackson, her costar on Dawson’s Creek, the TV show that launched her career. And in 2000, she began a romance with Chris Klein, to whom she was engaged for two years before they called it quits in 2005 — the year she starred in Batman Begins, her biggest movie success. “And it was just a month after she broke up with Chris that she met and fell in love with Tom; that’s quite a timeline,” the source adds.
“To say that Katie has had an eventful life would be an understatement. She’s seen more than her fair share of drama and heartache, and all of it has been put under the microscope. But Katie has come shining through, and she’s built an amazing new life for herself and Suri. She’s an inspiration, really. If she does decide to share her deepest thoughts and feelings, it would be an instant best-seller!”
