Not to be without a famed actress by his side, Cruise and the much younger (about 16 years, actually) Katie Holmes started dating in April 2005 and were first spotted together in Rome. The media frenzy that ensued engulfed the Europe-infatuated couple. With skepticism about the “TomKat” pair running rampant, Cruise’s elevation on Oprah’s couch didn’t help the negative-spinning publicity. But the couple welcomed their daughter, Suri, (to plenty more public scrutiny) in April 2006 and then held a wedding ceremony with a guest list that read like a who’s who of the Church of Scientology in an Italian castle in November of the same year. Alas, those Italian dreams finally shattered just days before Cruise’s 50th birthday, as reports surfaced on Friday that Holmes was done with it all and a divorce was looming. “He’s gone from jumping on a couch to sleeping on a couch,” cracked Hollywood PR veteran Michael Levine.
Tom Cruise at 50: Where Does the Newly Single Star Go From Here?
Cruise celebrates his 50th birthday on July 3 — just days after his third wife, Katie Holmes, filed for divorce. TIME looks back at all the blockbuster movies, love interests, couch-jumping and Scientology videos that have shaped his career