With their divorce going through in the unprecedented short time of just 10 days, despite the terms of the split being kept under legal lock and key, details of how Katie won full custody of Suri (with Tom given “generous” visitation) are starting to leak out.
And as insiders spill that Tom had very little to bargain with when it came to the divorce, and that the pair are locked in a stalemate over what they can and can’t discuss with their daughter, Suri is set to start a whole new life in New York, beginning with her abandoning her Scientology tutors for the Dh136,800-a-year Convent of the Sacred Heart Catholic school, which counts Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton and Caroline Kennedy as past pupils.
New friends, new school, new life!
Having appeared outwardly unaffected by her parent's split, pals of the former couple have said that the quickie divorce was down to the fact that "neither of them wanted this to be hashed out in public." And after an insider insisted, "Tom thinks she should be with her mother", Katie has been able to execute the plans she had long had in place for Suri's new life almost immediately.
"She knew she had to have everything locked down before she pulled the trigger," spilled a New York source. "There could be no wiggle room if she didn't want this to turn into a long, drawn-out battle."
Required to attend Mass every Sunday as per her new Catholic school rules, six-year-old Suri will gradually be shifting away from her father's Scientology teachings to embrace her mother's Catholicism – and will be immersed in a classroom environment she, so far, hasn’t experienced due to her home-schooling.
Spotted out in New York last week with a host of new pals – the children of Big Apple friends Katie has reconnected with – Suri has also found a new best friend in the shape of Zoey Yang, the daughter of Katie’s design partner Jeanne Yang.
"Katie's trading in drivers and helicopter travel for walking and cab rides," said a mole. "There’s grocery shopping, trips to the museum and barbecues with friends. Katie will now only have Suri hanging out with age-appropriate friends."
Suri in the divorce settlement
With Katie walking away from the marriage with virtually none of Tom's money, a trust has been set up for Suri, and Katie is said to have insisted on a "nanny clause" in the divorce, which will see her select a non-Scientologist nanny, who will accompany Suri when she visits her father.
"My sources tell me that Katie wants one consistent nanny, in her employ, to travel with Suri between both households, not necessarily to spy and safeguard, but so that the child has some consistency in her life," revealed one Hollywood-watcher. "The nanny acts as an anchor.
Originally it was supposedly proposed that the nanny come from Tom's family or network. Katie vehemently opposed that."
Tom and Katie are also said to have insisted on clauses in the settlement, which control what they can and can't discuss with their daughter, with one insider spilling, "[That includes] Scientology.
However, those restrictions are eased the older Suri gets." And Katie has apparently also insisted that Suri is not permitted to set foot inside any Scientology churches, with one source saying, "[She] made sure that was ironclad."
Given "generous" visitation rights, Tom was back on the set of Oblivion in California last week, without having seen Suri since Katie filed for divorce, as the actress was said to want to wait until all agreements had been signed before she permitted 'alone time'.
"She was aggressive out of the gate for a reason, the fact that Tom is even negotiating with her, and not bullying her, is remarkable in itself," insisted one source. "She wanted to put him in a position where he had to acknowledge her demands, and she succeeded. Tom Cruise is bargaining. For Tom Cruise, bargaining is new territory."
