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Katie Holmes has filed for divorce in New York citing “irreconcilable differences”, announcing the split via a statement to People magazine. Hubby Tom Cruise, 49, said that he was “deeply saddened” by the news. According to TMZ.com, Holmes, 33, has asked for sole legal custody of six-year-old daughter Suri, setting up the couple for a high profile legal battle if Cruise chooses to contest her claim. The pair signed a prenuptial agreement before their wedding in November 2006, which guarantees Holmes a yearly sum. However, legal experts said that the actor could be prepared to give up a larger slice of his 160-million-pound fortune in return for Holmes remaining silent about the details of their marriage. Cruise remains one of the world’s most bankable actors. The star of ‘Top Gun’ and the ‘ Mission : Impossible’ franchise earned an estimated 50 million pounds last year alone and runs his own Hollywood production company. “One thing you can rely on is that Tom Cruise will have an airtight pre-nup. This is a man who is in control of everything and the pre-nup will be pretty restrictive,” the Telegraph quoted Michael Kelly, a leading Californian divorce lawyer who specialises in pre-nuptial agreements, as saying. “He could choose to give Katie a bigger settlement, as Tiger Woods did with his wife, but that will be his choice. “There is also the prospect of a custody dispute, which he will want to avoid,” the lawyer said. This will be the third divorce for Cruise. He was married to Mimi Rogers, the actress, from 1987-1990 and to Nicole Kidman from 1990-2001, with whom he adopted two children. His relationship with Holmes, then an up-and-coming actress best known for her role in teen drama Dawson ’s Creek, began in April 2005. Two months later, Cruise used a press conference in Paris to announce that he had proposed under the Eiffel Tower . The wedding took place in November 2006, a lavish affair in an Italian castle with guests including the Beckhams and Giorgio Armani. The couple were last photographed together in February and Miss Holmes was absent from the red carpet during Cruise’s recent promotional tour for Rock of Ages. “Kate has filed for divorce. Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children,” a spokesman for Cruise said. The actor is currently in Iceland shooting a new sci-fi film, Oblivion.

Tom Cruise `deeply saddened` after Katie Holmes files for divorce