He jumped on a couch, dammit. Tom Cruise was really, really happy – I can still picture his little legs springing off of O's sofa. Again and again. He wanted to yell it from the mountain tops – or at least the ceiling at Harpo Studios.
"I'm in love!" he confessed, giggling like a 13-year-old boy, now in a ball on the floor. "I've never seen you like this!" Oprah squealed.
Glued to that O interview, I was right there with him: He had finally found his perfect match, Katie Holmes. He liked it, he put a ring on it, they would live happily ever after. High five, Tom!
Recounting this to my coworkers, after I gasped at today's headline – Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to divorce, lawyers confirm – I got snickers, eye rolls and disapproving huffs.
"I'm glad she's finally free," chirped one. "She's escaped," said another. "Jumped on a couch? You know he's an actor, right?"
Ouch.
Yes, I admit it: I thought they'd last. And I was hit with an immediate, deep sadness when I read the news. Yes, of course, it's sad for the kid. But to me, it's the end of a real Hollywood romance.
Perhaps it was the image of a young Katie Holmes, a dozen years ago, staring at a glossy magazine cover with dreamy Tom, picturing her wedding with the Cocktail hunk.
And then, like a cheesy romcom: She got her celebrity dreamboat, he got his perfect wife – and I loved them together. No, US Weekly, he didn't ensnare her into a cult. Shut it, In Touch, she wasn't cheating. They were an actual family.
According to TMZ (admittedly not the most journalistic enterprise, but rarely wrong on celeb shockers), it was Katie who filed for divorce, she's seeking sole custody of Suri and Tom was 'blindsided.' The details, you can be certain, will come out in the coming weeks. But right now, I'm in mourning.
The couple were absolutely blissful five years ago (or, at least, they totally sold me into believing they were). I looked forward to seeing them on the red carpet, she a few awkward inches taller than he, but both of them beaming.
And now? We can look forward to years of grocery store magazine headlines trashing both of them, with Suri's tomboy sad-face slapped right in the centre.
Am I alone here? I know the typical response is 'who cares.' But, did anybody else think TomKat would make it?