Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' divorce: The doomed love affair in pictures

PUBLISHED: 19:07 EST, 29 June 2012 | UPDATED: 19:37 EST, 29 June 2012

It was a relationship that raised eyebrows from the very start.

She was the beautiful ingenue from wholesome teen drama Dawson's Creek and he was the world's biggest, and it was starting to seem to some... oddest, movie star.

At 28, Katie Holmes could've passed for 18, and had an air of wholesome normality that had long since disappeared from Cruise's weird world as he hurtled towards his mid-Forties.

APRIL 2005 Where it all began: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes looked like giddy teenagers when they were first picture together in Italy. He wooed her by decorating their hotel room in Rome with rose petals

When they were first pictured together as a couple, in Italy where they would later marry, the incredulity amongst press and fans alike was tangible.

Tom had dated the more age appropriate and sophisticated Penelope Cruz and never asked her to marry him, and now he was squiring this girl who had been on the arm of American Pie's Chris Klein... it all seemed so unlikely.

But the couple went on to become TomKat, one of the most talked about couples of the century...if perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

MAY 23, 2005 Crazy in love: Tom jumped on Oprah Winfrey's sofa, declaring: 'I can't be cool. I can't be laidback. It's..something that has happened and I feel I want to celebrate it and I wanna celebrate her. She's a very special woman.'

JUNE 17, 2005 Yes! Yes! Yes! Katie flashes her engagement ring in Paris after Tom proposed over a candlelit dinner at Le Jules Verne restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. 'Today is a magnificent day for me, I'm engaged to a magnificent woman,' he said

Because if the union was supposed to cease gossip about Cruise and his personal life, in particular rumours of his homosexuality – always denied – it failed utterly.

The couple's wedding was choreographed like a massive movie premiere, with more bodyguards than guests and the ultimate goal seemingly the fantastically romantic images which were released to the media of the A list star and his pretty bride.

This came in the wake of the president of Paramount Sumner Redstone complaining that women found the actor 'creepy.'

When the romance began – Katie had met Tom to discuss the possibility of appearing in Mission Impossible III – she was immediately sent on an intensive and lengthy study course about Scientology, the religion founded by sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard in 1954, which holds that humans are descended from an exiled race of aliens called Thetans.

JUNE 23, 2005 Swept off her feet: The couple put on very public display of affection at the War Of The Worlds premiere in New York

She was 'audited' by Scientology counsellors, and unlike Cruz and Tom's first wife Nicole Kidman before her, totally embraced the movement.

Cruise proposed on June 17, 2005 on the top of the Eiffel Tower following a famously embarrassing declaration of his love on Oprah Winfrey's show, where he jumped up on the couch yelling 'I'm in love, I'm in love, I can't be cool, I can't be laid back.'

Despite earlier reports that there would be a Roman Catholic ceremony of some sort – Katie was born a Catholic – it was a Scientology wedding.

JUNE 27, 2005 The need for speed: The couple's romance quickly went into overdrive, and the actor took her along to the LA premiere of the sci-fi film

What's more it was conducted by David Miscavige, Tom Cruise's best friend who is the head of the movement.

From the outset Miss Holmes struggled to ever settle in their £20million Los Angeles mansion.

Cass Mapother is a key figure here, Tom's sister – and she and her three sons share the house with Tom and his two adopted children Conor and Isabella.

Miss Holmes never felt that the massive mansion, stuffed with bodyguards, was her home.

Everyone who came through the doors was a Scientologist.

His devotion to the religion meant that he was widely regarded as 'weird'.

OCTOBER 2005 Baby on board! Katie revealed her bump in all its glory at Tom's daughter Isabella's soccer game in Brentwood after announcing her pregnancy

Andrew Morton's unauthorised biography repeated claims that Suri was thought by some to have been conceived using the frozen sperm of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

This suggestion infuriated Cruise, friends described it as 'sick, offensive and very upsetting'.

But he'll be perhaps more damaged still by what has so demonstrably happened to Katie Holmes.

Before they met she was a natural beauty, and her physical decline in the five and a half years that followed is almost shockingly obvious.

OCTOBER 2006: It's a girl: The couple's daughter Suri was born in April 2006 but they kept her out of the spotlight, prompting some to question if the child even existed. She finally made her debut five months later on the cover of Vanity Fair

How will Tom – the sofa jumper who wants so desperately to be loved – ever get over this?

Tom gave no hint of trouble in a gushing interview about his wife just last month.

The star said he loved her 'creativity' and claiming their relationship was 'very special'.

He told People magazine: 'She is an extraordinary person, and if you spent five minutes with her, you'd see it. Everything she does, she does with this beautiful creativity. She has a voice and warmth as an artist, as a mother. She's funny and charming, and when she walks into the room, I just feel better.

NOVEMBER 18, 2006: I do! The couple exchanged vows at Odescalchi Castle in Lake Bracciano, Italy, in a ceremony performed by a Scientology minister. The bride wore Armani

'I'm a romantic. I like doing things like creating romantic dinners, and she enjoys that. I don't know what to say - I'm just happy, and I have been since the moment I met her. What we have is very special.'

But the pair have been living increasingly separate lives in recent months, with Tom spending time away from his family to focus on work. He has been promoting his latest film, Rock of Ages, and also filming Oblivion.

Sources have suggested that Tom's absence was started to take a toll on his family - and his young daughter's behaviour.

JULY 22, 2007: Famous friends: Tom and Katie joined Jada and Will Smith in welcoming Victoria and David Beckham to LA with a private party at the Museum of Contemporary Art

NOVEMBER 27, 2008: Family matters: Katie quickly became an important figure in the lives of Tom's adopted children Isabella and Connor from his marriage to Nicole Kidman. 'They call me Mom,' she has said

'Suri misses her dad,' an insider told Star magazine recently, citing the girl's recent public outbursts as evidence.

'She's a different child when Tom's around,' explained the friend. 'Suri was having a complete meltdown on a recent photo shoot for Katie until Tom stopped by unexpectedly. He picked her up and she was suddenly fine.'

FEBRUARY 14, 2009: Happiest family on earth: Tom and Katie visit Disneyland with their daughter Suri and his son Conor

JUNE 2010: High power: Katie Holmes was spotted leaving Scientology Center. When the pair first started dating, she was 'really excited' about embracing the actor's controversial religion. Sources now say it played a part in their split

But Tom, who was planning to celebrate his 50th birthday on July 3 in Iceland, insists his brood is accustomed to having him away, saying: 'My family and I have an understanding on that matter.'

The couple's romance has always been high-profile but it's become increasingly obvious that as the Cruise wagon rolled on, Katie lost herself along the way.

Once tipped to be box office name herself, she's enjoyed her biggest success on Broadway away from Hollywood and the Cruise machine.

JULY 16, 2011: Making waves: Katie and Suri visited Tom Cruise in Miami, Florida, while he was filming Rock of Ages

In his most famous - and cringe-worthy - declaration of love, he jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch in sheer delight.

He told Oprah at the time: 'I can't be cool... I can't be laidback. It's something that has happened and I feel I want to celebrate it and I wanna celebrate her. She's a very special woman.'

He also revealed he wooed her by setting up a series of romantic surprises including a motorcycle ride on a beach and decorating their hotel room in Rome, Italy with rose petals.

No sign of trouble: The couple smiled and held hands in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in one of the last pictures of them together, they were seen together holding hands in Iceland where Tom is filming just two weeks ago

Katie soon converted to Scientology - the controversial religion which Tom subscribes to.

The couple welcomed their first child together, daughter Suri, in April 2006 but decided to keep her out of the spotlight for five months following her birth.

Suri finally made her debut in the October 2006 issue of Vanity Fair and went on to become the biggest-selling edition in the magazine's history.

Apart: Katie, seen here with Suri on June 26, did not join Tom, pictured right on June 8, as he promoted Rock of Ages