Tom Cruise's relationship with daughter Suri who he 'hasn't seen for 10 years'

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Now the little girl, who stole hearts in a Little Mermaid costume on the last day she was pictured out with her dad in 2012, is all grown up — and looking to study fashion at college in New York.

Katie, 44, gained sole custody of Suri in 2012, along with a generous settlement which sees Tom, 60, paying a reported £325,000 a year for his daughter's care.

As rumours swirled about the cause of the split — with the finger pointed firmly at Tom's association with cult-like religion Scientology — Suri and Katie went off radar for years as they rebuilt their lives in New York, 2,400 miles away from LA-based Tom.

And insiders say he is still not involved in her life.

The actor has been accused of putting his religion before his daughter, with ex-Scientologists claiming he has been ordered to shun Katie and Suri as non-believers.

High-profile former church member Samantha Domingo, daughter-in-law of opera singer Placido, said in 2019: "You can't be anti-Scientology if you're part of Tom's family, you will be disconnected — look at his daughter Suri."

She added that the church, which believes mankind is descended from an alien race of gods, viewed Suri "as a spiritual being in Tom's daughter's body".

'I dreamed of marrying Tom Cruise'

But could Tom reunite with his daughter amid rumours he has been pulling away from the controversial church over the past two years?

Certainly, the Hollywood star appears to have distanced himself from the British arm.

While filming his Mission: Impossible franchise in Derbyshire in 2021, The Sun reported how Tom had unusually chosen not to stay at the British Scientology headquarters in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

He opted instead for an apartment in Knightsbridge, central London, and a secluded home in Kent close to Biggin Hill airport, within easy reach of his private jet.

Suri has reportedly not seen her dad since Christmas 2013.

Yet Tom is close to his older children — Isabella, 29, who lives a quiet life in London, and son Connor, 28, a fishing guide in Florida — who are both heavily involved in Scientology.

He adopted them with second wife, actress Nicole Kidman, who has been allegedly cut from their lives as a "suppressed person" — SP — someone who does not believe in the church.

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Aussie actress Nicole, 55 — who filed for divorce in 2001 after 11 years of marriage — has not spoken to Tom for more than 20 years.

Actress Leah Remini, 52, who left Scientology in 2013, said she asked Isabella about her mum at Tom and Katie's wedding and was told: "Our mum is a f***ing SP."

Dawson's Creek star Katie is said to have left Tom before Suri, then five, was old enough to be properly indoctrinated into the church.

He was filming in Iceland in 2012 when Katie phoned to say she wanted a divorce and would be taking their daughter away from LA and the Scientology Celebrity Centre, a hotel-style complex, where they lived.

There is speculation that Tom gave Katie, whose dad is a high-flying lawyer, custody to avoid the church being dragged through the courts.

The terms of their divorce settlement are ultra secret but documents show Tom agreed to pay Katie £325,000 a year until Suri turns 18, as well as all of his daughter's expenses, including college fees.

There have also been claims that Katie ensured part of the deal meant Suri would never be exposed to Scientology.

At the time, insiders claimed the couple had a pre-nup which dictated the longer Katie stayed with the actor, the more cash she got if they parted.

They claimed Katie signed a five-year contract, which entitled her to £2.45million a year.

Their split was a far cry from the days when the couple were nick- named TomKat and Tom jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's sofa in 2005 declaring his love for Katie.

The union was literally a dream come true to Katie.

While previously engaged to actor Chris Klein in the early 2000s, she told Seventeen magazine: "I think every girl dreams about her wedding. I used to think I was going to marry Tom Cruise."

Katie and Tom got engaged in June 2005 after an eight-week whirlwind romance where he flew her off for dinner dates in his private jet.

They married in Italy in 2006 in front of celebrity pals including Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy.

Katie's parents Kathleen and Martin were there but her dad was said to be unhappy with the union because he was a devout Catholic.

Suri arrived seven months before the wedding and Katie is believed to have had a "silent birth", as per Scientology advice, so the newborn is not "traumatised" by its mother's screams.

According to Paulette Cooper, author of The Scandal Of Scientology, children as young as six — close to Suri's age when her parents split — are put through "confessional auditing" in the church.

They are asked questions such as "Have you done anything you are ashamed of?" while hooked up to a Scientologist version of a lie detector.

The church, which was founded by American sci-fi writer L Ron Hubbard, has previously denied that young children are subjected to "auditing" — claiming it does not start until they are 12.

Katie, who went on to date actor Jamie Foxx, 55, from 2013 to 2019, is said to have worried that Suri would be indoctrinated if she did not get her away in time.

She and Suri have a very close mother-daughter relationship and Suri, who plays the guitar and loves singing, sang Blue Moon on the soundtrack of her mum's movie Alone Together, which came out last year.

After Katie told Tom she was leaving, ex-Scientologist executive Karen de la Carriere commented: "Katie ambushed Tom Cruise and in doing so outwitted some of the most controlling people on Earth."

Even the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige was impressed by Katie.

Jenna Miscavige, who claimed life was so miserable inside the church she attempted suicide before leaving, praised Katie.

She said: "My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and, at times, physically abusive.

"I was allowed to see my parents only once a week at best, sometimes not for years.

"We got a lousy education from unqualified teachers, forced labour, long hours, forced confessions, being held in rooms, not to mention the mental anguish of trying to figure out all of the conflicting information they force upon you as a young child.

"While it is very unlikely that Suri Cruise would have the same upbringing as me (due to her parent's celebrity status), any organisation that is capable of mistreating and neglecting the needs of children, regardless of their social status, and which has a long history of breaking up families, is no place for an innocent child."

Ex-member Leah Remini says Katie still fears losing Suri to the church if she keeps in touch with the religion's critics.

In 2018 she said: "Trust me, Katie's not allowed to have a meal with me, and we used to be close friends.

"She could lose custody of Suri. It's quite sick, really."

Leah claimed Tom, who launched a £40million lawsuit against American magazine In Touch in 2012 after it accused him of abandoning his daughter, will have "come up with a plan" to reunite with Suri when she is older.

She told the New York Post: "Scientology considers Katie a suppressive person, which is an enemy, and therefore Tom believes, like all Scientologists, that he can't be connected to Suri.

"I'm sure his master plan is to wait until Suri gets older so he can lure her into Scientology."

But if Tom really is distancing himself from the church, reuniting with his daughter may not prove Mission: Impossible after all.

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£2M OF TODDLER CLOTHES

BEFORE her parents split Suri was one of the most famous celebrity kids on the planet - with a wardrobe to match.

Her designer shoes, clothes and bags were reportedly worth in the region of £2million.

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Among the items were a pair of sparkly kitten heels and a tiny £700 Salvatore Ferragamo handbag.

Katie once said: "It has been my dream for ever to be in fashion and I'm truly inspired by my daughter Suri.

"She just loves dressing up."

But when Katie took Suri to New York it is said she cut back on expensive tastes and returned gifts from designers.

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