14 DAY TRIAL // What promised to be one of the nastiest, juiciest celebrity divorces has just been wrapped, days after official papers were filed. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have reached a divorce settlement, it has been confirmed.
Katie filed divorce papers in New York a little over a week ago, reportedly blindsiding Tom in doing so. She also asked for sole custody of their 6-year-old daughter Suri, something that Tom wasn't willing to give her.
Since the divorce announcement was made until just now, there has been a lot of speculation on many aspects, including the custody of the child, the money Katie would get either as compensation in the divorce or as alimony, and how Cruise's involvement with the Church of Scientology would affect proceedings.
As noted above, the divorce battle promised to be a nasty one.
It turns out that both Katie and Tom worked hard to prevent it from getting nasty: just days after divorce negotiations kicked off, the two parties have already reached an agreement.
The details of the settlement have not been revealed to the press, except for the mention that Katie gets sole custody of Suri in NYC, with Tom being awarded “generous” visitation rights, People magazine informs.
“The case has been settled and the agreement has been signed. We are thrilled for Katie and her family and are excited to watch as she embarks on the next chapter of her life,” Holmes' attorney Jonathan Wolfe says for the celebrity publication.
“We thank Tom's counsel for their professionalism and diligence that helped bring about this speedy resolution,” Wolfe adds in the same statement.
To further help put matters to rest, Tom and Katie have also released a joint statement, confirming that an agreement has been reached and explaining that it took so little time because the focus has always been on Suri's best interest.
“We are committed to working together as parents to accomplish what is in our daughter Suri's best interests. We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other's roles as parents,” the two stars say.
Tom and Katie were married for 5 years. They have only one child together, the 6-year-old Suri.