Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Has anyone ever been more in love than couch-jumping Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? We'll wait. Beginning in 2005, the actress and fashion icon (not just anyone can pull off socks over sweatpants, alright?) engaged in a whirlwind romance with PDA-filled red carpet appearances that solidified their public image as TomKat. Within a year of meeting, they were engaged and welcomed a child together. A few months later, they tied the knot (Holmes's first marriage and Cruise's third). While many believed that the union wouldn't last — and it ultimately didn't — the pair still went on to share nearly six years together as husband and wife.

Since their 2012 divorce, we're remembering the Hollywood couple that once gave every teenager a glimmer of hope that it was possible — although highly unlikely — that maybe, just maybe, the dream of marrying their celebrity crush could become a reality.

Here's a look back at Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's relationship.

April 2005: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes first meet and are spotted together

As the story goes, after Cruise divorced Nicole Kidman and subsequently split from then-girlfriend Penelope Cruz, the Mission: Impossible actor's beloved Church of Scientology set out to find him a worthy (and malleable) wife. After reportedly courting (and ultimately scaring off) famous women like Sofía Vergara and Scarlett Johansson, the task proved more difficult than expected.

Eventually, church officials' prayers were answered through a Seventeen article, per HuffPost. In October 2004, Holmes (then engaged to Chris Klein) told the teen magazine, "I used to think that I was going to marry Tom Cruise." 

Six months later, Klein and Holmes announced their breakup, and on April 27, 2005, Cruise and Holmes were first spotted together in Rome. TomKat made their red carpet debut as a couple two days later on April 29 at the David di Donatello Awards. Coincidence? We may never truly know.

"When I met Tom, I was completely in love, and, yes, I admired him growing up — he's Tom Cruise!" she reportedly told T: The New York Times Style Magazine (via People).

May 23, 2005: Tom Cruise declares his love for Katie Holmes on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Cruise jolted daytime television when he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and ecstatically jumped on her couch while professing love for his new girlfriend (who he subsequently brought out from backstage). The appearance went viral, with many questioning Cruise's sanity, as well as the relationship's authenticity.

June 16, 2005: Tom Cruise announces engagement to Katie Holmes

Shortly after going public with their relationship, Cruise announced at a press conference for War of the Worlds that he and Holmes were engaged. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cruise, then 43, proposed to Holmes, then 26, with a five-carat yellow diamond ring at a restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower.

"Today is a magnificent day for me; I'm engaged to a magnificent woman," he said, per People. 

April 18, 2006: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes welcome their first child together

Holmes gave birth to a baby girl, Suri, in Santa Monica, California, in April 2006. Their newborn daughter made her public debut on the October 2006 cover of Vanity Fair. 

The Dawson's Creek alum told the magazine, "The moment the doctor handed me Suri, I was just ready. The feeling is indescribable. All I can say is the moment I looked in her eyes, I felt like ... Mom." 

Since then, the celeb offspring and fashionista has inspired one of our favorite pop culture artifacts of all time: Suri's Burn Book. 

November 18, 2006: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes get married

In November 2006, the Batman Begins actress's schoolgirl fantasy of marrying Cruise came true. Their wedding was marked by an extravagant ceremony and reception at an Italian castle that cost more than $3 million, according to E! Online.

The star-studded guest list included couples Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, John Travolta and the late Kelly Preston, and David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, among others. As for the bridal party, Holmes had her sister Nancy Blaylock as maid of honor, while Cruise chose Scientology leader David Miscavige as his best man.

June 2012: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorce

Interestingly, after Cruise gave a Playboy interview in which he praised Holmes, she filed for divorce. Although the Top Gun star admitted that he "didn't expect" the divorce — per CBS News — the legal proceedings ran smoothly, and a settlement was reached in just 11 days.

Cruise and Holmes have rarely spoken on the record in regard to their split, but it's rumored that Holmes's motivation was to free her daughter from the unique constraints of Scientology. During his deposition against Bauer Media Cruise (whose tabloids claimed he'd abandoned Suri), Cruise was asked if Holmes left him "in part to protect Suri from Scientology." 

Insulted, he said, "There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion." 

However, according to ABC News, when prodded again, specifically as to whether Holmes had mentioned that she was leaving in an effort to protect Suri from Scientology, Cruise responded, "Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes."

Holmes was granted primary custody of Suri in their divorce. Though Cruise was afforded ample visitation, it was widely reported that he rarely saw his daughter. In 2016, InTouch Weekly asserted that the actor hadn't seen or spoken to his youngest child in over 1,000 days (or two-and-a-half years).