Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Divorce Update

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. TomKat. They were one of the most celebrated couples in the show biz world. They married in a media circus and made headlines for five years, not all of the publicity flattering or good. Now that they’ve split, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes say all they want is one thing.

Privacy.

Katie Holmes’ attorney does not want to take her divorce case against Tom Cruise public and has not sought an emergency motion for child support and custody, Jonathan Wolfe, her New Jersey-based family law attorney told the Los Angeles Times July 5. He also said the media has made mistakes reporting on the case.

“The reports about an emergency filing last Friday are incorrect. Other than her action for divorce, the only pending application filed by Ms. Holmes remains her request for an anonymous caption,” Wolfe said. The announcement means Holmes is not seeking an immediate resolution, Wolfe said. It also means that the divorce and custody proceedings could still occur behind closed doors and even with a private judge under New York law. Anonymous caption means papers are filed with initials only, or without names entirely, making the case harder for journalists and other interested parties to track through the court system, attorney Michael Stutman, a New York divorce specialist, told the celebrity news site Buzzfeed.

Sources familiar with the divorce proceeding told the Times Holmes is “hoping to avoid a public fight and is not going to fight over money but is concerned about how the couple’s 6-year-daughter Suri is raised.” The source, who talked to the Times on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the case, said “Scientology and what role it would play in the upbringing” of the couple’s daughter, Suri, was a “key factor” in the split. Cruise is a prominent Church of Scientology member.

July 3, Gary S. Soter, an attorney for the church denied media reports that Scientology members were keeping tabs on Holmes. “There is no truth whatsoever to the [report] that the church of Scientology has sent anyone to follow or surveil Katie Holmes,” he said.

The popular go-to web site for salacious celebrity gossip, TMZ, reports all the talk and allegations about the Church of Scientology are a media stunt. “Our sources tell us … they believe Katie and her team are leaking false stories to the media by maintaining she was trying to save Suri from the grips of Scientology, and that’s why she left Tom,” the website reads. “As one well-connected Tom source put it, “She [Katie] was totally committed to Scientology. She had enthusiasm for it and would voluntarily and gladly participate in it when Tom was off shooting movies.” The source adds, “This is not a fight over religion. It’s being used as a way to hurt Tom,” TMZ said.

As the divorce proceeds, it is more likely that venue – New York or California and custody of six year old Suri will be the main points of contention, not religious beliefs.

We’ll see.