If you think you might be at a saturation point with Tom Cruise, just wait. That is the assessment of a number of media analysts in the wake of the recent announcement that Cruise and his wife of five years, actress Katie Holmes, are getting a divorce.
“Over the next two to three weeks, every talk show host will use this as a joke line — every night, drip, drip, drip, over and over and over,” says one Hollywood public relations pundit.
That indeed seems likely, given Cruise’s huge international fame and two previous divorces. The fact that Holmes filed for divorce and seeks sole child custody of the couple’s young daughter , Suri, also has many people suggesting that Homes is worried that Suri is being overly indoctrinated into the Scientology church, in which Cruise is prominent.
“The fact that she asked for the sole legal and primary physical custody, that could be nasty,” says one judge.
And then, of course, one central question comes immediately to mind for many people who know something about high-asset divorce and property division: Is there a prenuptial agreement?
Most commentators weighing in heavily assume that there is
“I think we can reasonably assume he had a pre-nup,” says one. “Tom Cruise is not that crazy.”
Holmes filed for divorce in New York, where the couple has a home. Unlike California and similar to Georgia, New York is an equitable distribution state where, instead of a couple splitting property 50/50, a court will determine what is fair through consideration of many factors.
Despite the media already zeroing in on the story in a huge way, one New York attorney predicts that, “There won’t be a battle in the press,” owing to likely confidentiality provisions contained in a premarital contract.
Source: USA TODAY, “Cruise-Holmes divorce could be a legal mess,” Maria Puente and Andrea Mandell, June 30, 2012
