Leah Claims Tom & Katie Neglected Suri, Wed For Scientology PR Stunt
Nov. 2 2015, Updated 1:44 p.m. ET
When Tom Cruise first jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch in 2005, declaring his love for much younger actress Katie Holmes, viewers became suspicious of the whirlwind, May-December romance. But according to Leah Remini, fans had no idea just how bizarre the relationship was from the very beginning. The ex-Scientologist and onetime Cruise confidante, 45, rips the lid off the wacky TomKat marriage in her upcoming tell-all, Troublemaker— and RadarOnline.com has her craziest stories!
When Tom Cruise first jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch in 2005, declaring his love for much younger actress Katie Holmes, viewers became suspicious of the whirlwind, May-December romance. But according to Leah Remini, fans had no idea just how bizarre the relationship was from the very beginning. The ex-Scientologist and onetime Cruise confidante, 45, rips the lid off the wacky TomKat marriage in her upcoming tell-all, Troublemaker— and RadarOnline.com has her craziest stories!
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Remini first spent time with Cruise, now 53, privately when she and husband Angelo Pagan were summoned to teach him salsa dancing at his Beverly Hills mansion in 2004. To their shock, Katie Holmes, now 36, was present— and Remini claims Cruise made it very, very obvious that the two were dating. "He was manhandling Katie, dipping her in a forceful way and then making out with her," Remini recalls, adding that she received a "sharp look" from Cruise's Scientology handlers when she suggested the couple get a room.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes share a romantic walk in Boston, MA with arms around each other
Under Cruise control? Remini claims Holmes was immediately assigned a "Scientology chaperone" to keep the young star "on track" with her new religion.
Celebs arrive from Tom and Katie rehearsal dinner in Italy
When Cruise confided his wedding plans in Remini, he asked her to invite her good friends, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to the fairytale Italian ceremony. "We don't really know them that well," Holmes said, leading The King of Queens actress to wonder why they wanted virtual strangers to attend the festivities. (Later, she guesses that the church was trying to recruit the superstar couple.)
Tom Cruise And Katie Holmes – Wedding Day
PR stunt? Remini claims the big 2006 wedding, with A-list non-Scientology guests including Lopez, Victoria Beckham and former Cruise nemesis Brooke Shields, "was a…way of legitimizing Scientology to the public and an attempt to recover from the bad PR of recent years." She says Cruise's wedding planners even encouraged paparazzi shots.
Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise seen walking in Chelsea
Bad mom behavior? During a pre-wedding party, Remini says Cruise and Holmes' infant daughter Suri was screaming and crying on a bathroom floor— but the celebrity baby's mother didn't turn to help. She claims three handlers were frantically trying to calm her down. "Rather than talking to her in a soothing voice, they kept saying, 'Suri! Suri!' in a tone that sounded like they were telling an adult to get her s**t together," Remini writes, alleging she had to get the baby a bottle when no one else was willing.
Celebs head to Tom and Katie’s wedding in Rome, Italy
Remini, who questioned the whereabouts of leader David Miscavige's missing wife and verbally sparred with Holmes' intense Scientology handler, was soon accused of acting inappropriately during the wedding. Holmes even wrote up a Knowledge Report, or formal complaint in Scientology, on Remini! "She referred to my behavior during the wedding weekend as 'very upsetting' and accused me of disrupting the party, which she claimed was a 'poor example to others,'" Remini writes. "She went on to say, 'She made the party all about her.'"
Katie Holmes in New York
Despite the harsh words, Remini didn't feel sorry. She calls the report "childish" and comments it looked like it was "written by a seventh grader."
Celebrities arrive back from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding in Rome, Italy
As punishment for her behavior at Cruise and Holmes' wedding, Remini was forced to submit to auditing, or intense questioning, for months in Scientology's Clearwater, Florida headquarters.
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Remini was forced to apologize to Holmes, who responded via text, "just handle it with your MAA," or high-ranking ethics officer.
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Pushed out! After Cruise and Holmes' 2012 divorce, Remini claims Scientology deemed the former blushing bride a Suppressive Person, or someone who is excommunicated from the church.
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Remini left the church in 2013, and Holmes has publicly apologized to the fellow former Scientologist. "I regret having upset Leah in the past and wish her only the best in the future," the actress said in a statement.