Tom Cruise Denied Abandoning His Child as He Shared the Reason for Not Seeing Her for 100 Days

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes welcomed their daughter Suri in 2006, but after their divorce in 2012, Cruise and his daughter's relationship has been estranged.

"Mission Impossible" actor Tom Cruise and "Dawson's Creek" actress Katie Holmes were together for almost a decade and have a daughter, Suri, together, when she filed for divorce in 2012.

Before the former couple's divorce, Cruise seemed like a doting dad who was excited to be a father to not only Suri but his two adopted children, Isabella and Connor, whom he shares with his ex Nicole Kidman.

THE HOLMES-CRUISE FAMILY

Holmes and Cruise first stepped out as a couple in 2005, shortly after his divorce from Kidman and her split from her fiance, Chris Klein. Their relationship progressed quickly as they welcomed Suri and married each other the following year.

During their relationship, the pair would often talk about their love in different interviews. Cruise famously jumped onto Oprah's Winfrey's couch and professed his love for the actress.

During the first half of Suri's life, Cruise appeared to be wholly involved in her life. Holmes, Cruise, and Suri even appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2006 together a few months after she was born in April 2006.

The small family spent a lot of time together, living in New York City, traveling the globe, and doing family things together, such as supporting Holmes during a marathon.

Cruise has regularly gushed about fatherhood and his children during various interviews. During the family's Vanity fair cover story, Cruise stated that he had always wanted to be a father:

“My whole life I always wanted to be a father.”

Despite the couple's busy schedule and varying projects, the Holmes-Cruise household made it work and focused on raising their daughter. Holmes even converted to Cruise's Scientology religion.

The pair seemed to be very happy and were seen as Hollywood's it couple. However, under the surface, it seems things didn't go so well as Holmes filed for divorce in 2012.

The pairs' lawyers quickly reached an agreement, in only 11 days after the proceedings started. Holmes was awarded full custody of their only child during the custody battle, while Cruise was given visitation rights.

CRUISE IS ABSENT

Shortly after their divorce, which Cruise had not expected, claims that Cruise abandoned his biological daughter came to the surface and the "Top Gun" actor found himself having to defend his parenting and absence.

In court documents obtained by People in 2012, Cruise was asked whether it was true that he did not see his then six-year-old daughter in person for over 100 days.

The father of three explained that it was true, but not because he abandoned his daughter. He has been tied up filming "All You Need Is Kill" in London but admitted he had not seen his daughter for over 100 days:

“Unfortunately in this situation it was impossible.”

Cruise had last seen Suri on August 4, 2012, after the father and daughter wrapped up a week-long vacation in Disney World and only saw her again that year around Thanksgiving time.

Although the actor had not seen her, he tried his best to stay involved in her life and called her at least once, sometimes twice a day, to stay updated on what she was doing.

He did admit that talking to a young child on the phone was not the same as in-person contact, but he had gotten good at speaking to her and keeping her engaged with his "wonderful stories."

The court documents noted that Cruise described his daughter as having a good sense of herself and that he believed she was a happy and confident child.

Cruise admitted that he was not in New York for Suri's first day at school in September that year because of his work schedule and his concerns about media attention.

Although he did state that Suri did not seem to mind his absence, and if she had directly asked him to be there for her, he would have re-worked his schedule and made a plan to be in the city for the special day.

Through the court documents, it seemed Cruise was able to explain his absence and reiterated that situations changed because of the divorce, but that in no way meant he abandoned his daughter.

Unfortunately, this incident would not be the only time Cruise was accused of abandoning Suri. In 2015, various US outlets reported that Cruise had not seen Suri for 26 months.

At the time, one source told the National Enquirer that he did not seem interested in being involved in her life. The unidentified source could not provide evidence to back their claim that he had not seen his daughter for almost a fifth of her life.

DID SCIENTOLOGY PLAY A ROLE?

The rumors of Cruise's absence in his daughter's life came after speculation that Cruise's religion, Scientology, caused friction in his marriage to Holmes and ultimately led to his divorce.

In the previous 2012 court documents, Cruise admitted that religion played a part in the divorce, but many other aspects also led to the couple's split.

Cruise also revealed that Suri, like her mother, was no longer practicing the religion. Furthermore, he was asked whether Holmes left him to protect their daughter, which offended the actor as he responded:

"I find that question offensive. There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion.”

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Currently, in 2021, there is not much known about Cruise and Suri's relationship. However, Suri seems to be thriving with her mother in New York City.

The teenager is often seen running different errands with her mom, including grocery shopping or hanging out with friends. In 2020, Suri was seen in the city celebrating her 14th birthday.

Holmes gave insight into their apartment during an interview with Elle UK and explained she tried to draw contrasts between the harsh concrete jungle and the interior of their home with delicate designs and vintage items.