KATIE'S PRENUP PANIC
November 01, 2005 |
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Katie Holmes' happiness bubble finally burst recently when, a source says, her fiancé — Tom Cruise, the man she's dreamed of marrying since she was a teenager — asked her to sign a prenup.
"She freaked out," the source says. "I think she thought it meant that he wasn't sure their relationship would last."
It certainly doesn't seem odd that Cruise would ask her to sign an agreement to protect his assets. After all, he's twice divorced, wise to the ways of the world, estimated to be worth more than $300 million and earning an average of $25 million per film! But, says the source, the idea of a prenup hadn't occurred to the comparatively naive Holmes: "She is so head over heels in love with him and couldn't bear the thought that he might not be equally as in love."
TOM'S HISTORY
Tom knows from experience the importance of a prenup. When he split from his second wife, Nicole Kidman, they had no agreement. As a result, gossip raged when he announced that they had split just before their 10-year anniversary. Insiders wondered if Tom was trying to avoid having to pay lifelong spousal support, which Kidman could have been eligible for, if their marriage reached the 10- year mark, under the California's community property laws. And it's rumored Nicole got one of the biggest multimillion payoffs in Hollywood history!
With Katie, it looks like he's not taking any chances. "Tom is one of the richest men in America, and he knows what a bitter divorce could do to his finances," says a source close to Tom. After all, it's not just Katie he has to worry about, but his two kids with Kidman (Connor, 10, and Isabella, 12) and his partner in his production company, says a source.
But while Katie isn't giving out exact figures, a source close to her says she's called Tom's offer "generous" and mentioned that if they stay wed for five years, she gets a nice chunk of money, and if they're together for 10, the amount more than doubles.
TOM'S PITCH
Tom finally sold a tearful Katie on the agreement by telling her "that it's for her protection," a source says. "He explained that at 43, he's more than 16 years older than she is, and although he's healthy, who knows what life has in store?" Tom's own father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, died in 1984 at just 49. Worried the same thing might happen to him, a source claims "he told Katie he wanted to create a prenup so that she will always be taken care of, no matter what." It seems that's just what Katie needed to hear. After they spoke, "she said she couldn't wait to be Mrs. Tom Cruise," says the source.
And insiders say that acquiescence was just what Tom needed to hear too, before bestowing that title on her.
— MAGGIE HARBOUR & JENNIFER PEARSON
For more on Tom & Katie, pick up a copy of this week's Star magazine! |
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