Tom Cruise, Suri Cruise and Katie Holmes in Pittsburgh on October 8, 2011. (WireImage)
Katie Holmes will claim her marriage to Tom Cruise was “irretrievably” busted six months ago and that they’ve lived in New York for at least the past two years, according to a published report today.
The divorce court’s geography could play a huge role in Holmes’ bid to win custody of their 6-year-old daughter Suri, 6, according to TMZ.
Even though the couple share a Beverly Hills home, Holmes will want to show they’ve lived in the Big Apple for at least two years, rolling the dice that New York family law will give her a better shot at keeping Suri, TMZ reported.
Holmes filed for divorce Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, under “Anonymous v. Anonymous.”
Holmes had been hiding out in her Chelsea pad, fearing contact with Cruise’s creepy Scientology cronies, before she was spotted outside earlier today.
Holmes, who was flanked by a new security team, had the look of a woman free from the burden of her unhappy marriage.
Holmes apparently kept her previously scheduled Monday appearance on the Lifetime reality fashion competition “Project Runway: All Stars,” People reported.
The show tapes at Parsons The New School of Design in Manhattan.
The former “Dawson’s Creek” actress, who even sported a smile amid reports that she finally pulled the trigger on divorcing Cruise out of fear that the “Top Gun” actor would ship their 6-year-old daughter Suri to Scientology’s hardcore elite Sea Organization, sources said.
Cruise’s desire to send Suri to Sea Org, as its known within Scientology, was the last straw for Holmes in her decision to split from the “Mission Impossible” star, according to TMZ
“Kids as young as five can be sent to live [at Sea Org] … without their parents,” the Web site reported.
Sea Org members sign billion-year contracts to work for the organization, and get room and board to permanently live at a Scientology base for reported salaries of up to just $50 per week.
The group gets its name because members initially worked on a Scientology ship, but they’ve since branched out to different headquarters, including Scientology’s Gold Base in California.
TMZ further reports that Holmes, “has first-hand knowledge of the Sea Org. When Holmes and Cruise first hooked up in 2005, Jessica Feshbach, a prominent Scientologist who had been with the Sea Org since 1994, was transferred and became Katie’s assistant/Scientology chaperone.
“Feshbach, in one of Katie’s first interviews after getting together with Cruise, was described by a writer for W magazine as ‘cold-eyed’ and ‘a third-wheel.’ “
Holmes’ feared that Cruise planned to ship their daughter off to the bizarre order, and felt divorce was the only option, the site says.
This comes as Holmes fears she can’t take one step without a Scientology goon following her every move in a heavy- handed intimidation attempt, multiple sources close to the actress told The Post yesterday.
The pretty actress last night was holed up in her Chelsea pad — terrified that Cruise might kidnap their little girl, law-enforcement sources said.
Holmes told another building resident of her abduction fear — and that neighbor called police on Friday, sources said.
But without Holmes phoning in the report herself — and Cruise known to be 2,600 miles away shooting a movie in Iceland — police couldn’t take any action.
Managers at Holmes’ plush Seventh Avenue building, though, have been put on alert for Cruise or any strangers who might want to get inside, the sources said.
Holmes, who filed for divorce from superstar Scientologist actor Cruise last week, knew this was coming, the sources said.
“Katie saw all the pressure. They [Scientologists] are professionals at pressuring people to be quiet,” said a friend of the actress after her bombshell divorce filing in Manhattan last week. “That’s why she did this [filed for divorce] in secret.”
A team of beefy armed men parked themselves in a white Cadillac Escalade outside Holmes’ place all day yesterday, snapping pictures of people outside the building and demanding to know who they were.
Cops finally pulled up in a marked NYPD squad car behind the SUV and checked out its Tennessee license plates. The officers said they were acting on complaints of “suspicious activity in a white Escalade” but did not elaborate.
They spent about 15 minutes eyeing the SUV before leaving. At least two of the five men sitting in the SUV were clearly packing heat. When asked who they worked for, one wisecracked: “We’re waiting for a bus.”
In the latest issue if the National Enquirer, which hit newsstands today, Holmes is said to have ended her marriage because she could not longer tolerate Cruise’s beliefs.
“For the sake of their daughter, she made the painful choice to end their marriage. It was the biggest decision of her life,” said an insider.
During an ugly confrontation, Cruise blasted Holmes for the way she was raising Suri, but souces said she shot back that the actor didn’t spend enough time with both of them.
“The tension between them exploded after that exchange,” a Holmes family insider told The Enquirer. “He blamed Katie for being far too permissive as a parent. He also said that he wasn’t happy with Suri wearing lipstick and nail polish.”