Katie Holmes' secret escape plan: Actress rented her own New York City ... - New York Daily News

Before actress Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, she already had a secret escape plan.

Holmes rented a New York flat, separate from the home she shares with Cruise when they're in the city, Us Weekly reported Saturday.

The dark-haired beauty made the clandestine arrangements while Mr. Top Gun was 2,600 miles away in Iceland working on the sci-fi flick "Oblivion." She quietly filed for divorce in New York on Thursday and is seeking sole custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Suri.

The split is reportedly rooted in his fierce loyalty to Scientology and its potential future impact on Suri.

The actor looked calm in a pair of aviator shades when spotted taking off in a private helicopter on Saturday from an Iceland airport. The heartbroken hubby was reportedly heading back to the movie set.

While he's getting the cold shoulder in Iceland, Cruise might be planning his next move. RadarOnline reported late Saturday that he will file for divorce in California, which experts say will give him a better shot of at least partial custody of Suri.

Just two weeks before Holmes filed for divorce, the couple was the picture of a happy family at a restaurant in Iceland with Suri on Father's Day weekend. Cruise and Holmes doted on the little girl while dining at Sushi Samba in the capital city of Reykjavik on June 16, munching on volcano rolls and avocado fries.

"They both looked after Suri, and she was getting the main attention at the table, but Tom and Katie would look at each other and smile," an eyewitness at the restaurant told Us Weekly. "They were like all the young families that come in here. It's almost impossible to think they're getting divorced because they seemed very happy that night."

In sharp contrast, news of the divorce didn't shock one of Holmes' former neighbors in a suburb of Toledo, Ohio.
"I'm definitely not surprised," said Lindsay Evans, 26, whose parents live just down the street from the Holmes family. "She's young and was naive. . . . It was obviously a shock
to everyone that they got married."

Evans, who has met Holmes, said the age difference of the couple seemed like it could be a deal breaker, even from the start.

Cruise will turn 50 on Tuesday. Holmes, a former "Dawson's Creek" star is 33.

"I feel bad for her, but she's young. She'll rebound and be just fine," Evans said.

Cruise's two previous wives were also 33 when their breakups were announced.

One Hollywood insider said the attention could be damaging for the "Mission: Impossible" star.

"This will have a serious impact on his deeply controlled, obsessively veneered image," Hollywood public relations veteran Michael Levine told the Daily News.

The A-list action hero was born in upstate Syracuse and rose to fame in the early 1980s with the breakout flicks "All the Right Moves" and "Risky Business." His 1986 megahit "Top Gun" — along with his good looks, charisma and highly respected work ethic — cemented his status as an international superstar.

But his onscreen success led to life in a fishbowl. Endless questions about Cruise's love life, kooky behavior and ties to Scientology have undercut his popularity.
One of his biggest knocks came when he walked out on wife Nicole Kidman three days before their 10th wedding anniversary in 2001 — a decision that blindsided the gorgeous Aussie actress.

Many outsiders viewed it as a coldly calculated move motivated by money. Under California law, the prospect of lifetime alimony kicks in after a decade of marriage.

Some reports claimed Cruise disapproved of Kidman's Catholic faith and didn't like her taking the couple's two adopted children to church.

Cruise also faced allegations he cheated on Kidman with his "Vanilla Sky" co-star Penelope Cruz. A month after the separation, Kidman suffered a miscarriage. She was several months along but hadn't known she was pregnant.

Cruz and Cruise later dated openly. His first marriage to Mimi Rogers also ended in divorce.

With a potential custody battle brewing, Cruise could face a damaging round of new scrutiny in the court of public opinion. "For the next two or three weeks, every comedy talk show host will take a crack at him," Levine said. "It will be drip, drip, drip, with all the same jokes about his personal life. It's all going to have an impact on his image."

With Khalea Underwood

ndillon@nydailynews.com