It was one year ago : Katie Holmes left Tom Cruise.  This would kick off a solid three months of amazing scandal. And this was my very best Tom/Kat saga. I know I know it’s an old story 2012 is SO OLD but hey I am a bit melancholic of good old gossip tabloids and it has been a bit slow on scandal these time.

Speed of gossip have changed substantially over the last century, but really, everything new is old. And turning star scandals into melodrama — something that resembles the plot of a movie, complete with clear-cut good and bad guys — is nothing new. LaineyGossip

Yesterday was Tom Cruise birthday (see photo of him supposedly celebrating at Chateau Marmont here.) A year ago, after 5 years of marriage, Katie Divorced from Tom Cruise on his 50 and did what people thought was mission impossible : She kept her daughter with her ! Yes I was completely addict of this scandalicious story (I see you rolling your eyes up! But hey don’t judge me we all need a distraction aright!).

That’s the power of celebrity scandal story.  This was not just a divorce, it was Tom Cruise divorce. It was Mr America’s most beloved Hero divorce. Tom Cruise usually manipulate his image à-la-perfection but this time it completely fall apart. Tabloid coverage of the split has portrayed Cruise and Scientology very negatively with headlines such as “Katie Holmes ‘Felt Like She Was in Rosemary’s Baby’” and “Katie Free at Last.“. [latimes.com]

At the time every medias, every gossip bloggers tried to understand what happened. Tom Cruise PR strategy was to use People Magazine to tell his side of the story. Pity him !! Cruise is very, very calculating — which is part of the reason that when a hole appears in his finely constructed image, we can’t look away. In the other hand you get a Katie Holmes looking like a hero, finally freeing herself out of this marriage.

Katie filed for divorce. NO ONE expected it. There were no leaks. There was no hint. No one scooped it. Not even TMZ. She was in total control. _LaineyGossip

A divorce is not a priori scandalous — it was scandalous in, say, the 19th century. But today in the pyramid of scandal a divorce doesnt worth a proper headline. BUT there were something about this divorce that smelled like juicy stuff. There was something Big. You know all the things about this Scientology brainwash thind, the Cruise acting furiously weird jumping on Oprah’s couch and the Katie being more and more like a robot.

The best analysis at this time was from Anne Helen Petersen, the doctor of celebrity. In TomKat: Six Ways to Breakdown a Breakup she listed exact reasons of why this story was tremendous. But the best way to understand this story is to read the textual imagery. This celebrity couple provided tons of powerful textual image through the media.  Let me resume you the Divorce Drama in 10 points !

1) Tom Cruise previous divorce including the one with Kidman after 10 years of marriage was a significant base. Everyone knows that he splits from Nicole because she wasn’t that much into that Scientology thing. She was later called a “Suppressive Person”.Kidman also seems to have signed a non-disclosure agreement, which begs the question: why so secretive, Tom Cruise, if you don’t have anything to hide.

2) Xenu’s mega bomb just happened: Katie released a statement, filed divorce and hijacked Tom Cruise. Others speculated that she had been lobotomized or entrapped; hence the gossip rallying cry to “Free Katie.

3) She managed to re-engage her former publicist, took her father as her attorney and later all of her team member staff under the radar.

4) After the separation Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise continue to get papped incessantly in New York, serving her happy face to every paparazzi of the world. These pictures would support Katie’s image of being a supermom and a courageous woman fighting the impossible.

5)  She managed to get as much as she can out of him when she signed that confidentiality agreement. And did everything to get primary custody of the little gold cash money Suri. And for that she manipulate the media as a queen (probably learn it during her 5 years spent with TC)

6) Cruise did not expect Holmes to ask for sole/primary custody.Cruise gave a statement to the effect that he was “disappointed.”

7) There were a bunch of cars spotted around Holmes’ homes.  There was some speculation that they belonged to Scientologists.  It’s since become clear that they were “security.”

8) She finally won sole custody PLUS the apartment in NY PLUS probably a great great money custody deal and she signed this damn confidentiality agreement ! DAMN IT !

9) After that the Kristen Stewart / Robert Pattison scandal appeared and overshadowed this all story. No one asked for more except Lainey who still is grawing for deep gossip.

10) The last media that deeply investigate around this scandal was Vanity Fair revealing the strange relationship between tom cruise and the chief of scientology church describing Cruise/ Miscavage bromance and how other women was cast to become new TCs wife. the tremendous Vanity Fair’s article “What Katie didn’t know”. Article was above my expectations, very good. but still enough has been said.

Lainey portrayed The mythology of Katie as A Feminist Hero.

Asks veteran publicist Howard Bragman. “You’ve got to realize the difference between a crisis and a controversy in Hollywood. For most people, this is a controversy. It’s not necessarily going to impact his career.”

Lainey compared her at the time with Tina Turner and the way Tina went out of her terrible marriage.

What Tina Turner did for battered women by breaking away from Ike, Katie Holmes has done for spouses and children suffering from religious abuse and coercion._Laineygossip

See those major gossip magazine cover over the past month. Every single one focus on what she knows or don’t knows and the fact that the entire planet have no idea what it is and really desire to KNOW!  SERIOUSLY WHAT DOES SHE KNOWS ???

Was it about Scientology?

Was it about Tom tortuous sexual orientation?

Was it about Suri?

Was it about Katie?

Was it everything?

Damn it what was it about !!?!?! History of gossip will tell us …