Carlos Alvarez/Getty ImagesI'm reading all this stuff about Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise and Scientology. Was she ever really a Scientologist?
—EmmaLuv, via the inbox
This isn't the first question of this stripe I've gotten today, and—lucky me—it likely won't be the last.
So let's tackle ‘em all in one big vaguely controversial roundup of questions dealing with this week's Divorce of the Century...
Starting with your question. Holmes was raised Catholic, but it's generally believed that she "converted" to Scientology in 2005, a few months after she and Cruise started dating.
"You know, it's really exciting," the actress said of Scientology during a interview with W that year. "I just started auditing, and I'm taking some courses, and I really like it." A few days after that interview, Holmes told the press in London that she had fully embraced the practice and was "excited"—an announcement that the press interpreted as a "conversion."
There were also elements of Scientology involved in the couple's Italian wedding, so, if Katie wasn't an official Scientologist, she certainly came close.
How much taller is Katie than Tom?
—Yall, Virginia, via the inbox
If you're looking for a joke here, write your own, I'm busy. But I will say this: Tom is reportedly 5 feet 7 inches, while his soon-to-be ex is closer to a model-esque 5 feet 9 inches.
Is it me or did Katie give up everything to be with Tom?
—737Louis, via the inbox
If you speak of her career, you may have a point. Her most acclaimed work, in Pieces of April and Thank You for Smoking, was shot before she married Cruise. And her income from the past year is estimated at a mere $5 million—healthy for us non-1-percenters, but nothing compared with the reported $75 million Cruise made over the same period.
Why does Katie want sole custody? Does Scientology have anything to do with it?
—Matthias, Dusseldorf, via the inbox
If Katie really is seeking sole custody solely to keep her daughter away from Scientology, she may have a hard time. Judges award sole custody only in extreme cases, according to Robert Brandt, head of the family law department at Feinberg, Mindel, Brandt and Klein.
"She's got to show more than the fact that she disagrees with Scientology," Brandt says. "She's got to prove that he's doing something that will significantly harm the child physically or emotionally. Not liking the religion is not enough."
There's also a small chance that Katie could win sole custody if she can prove that "she and the other parent can't even agree on the time of day." But again, that's rare.
Where is Katie right now? Is she in hiding?
—Tallulah's Sister, via the inbox
If by "in hiding" you mean "getting photographed by the paparazzi while walking around in plain sight in New York," then, yes.