Tom & Katie: Are They Doomed?

The most unlikely celebrity couple since, well, Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett, marry in Italy on Saturday, after a high-profile 18-month romance. Tom and Katie’s relationship has withstood jibes that it was nothing but a publicity stunt, and the embarrassment of Tom leaping around on live television to declare his love, to welcome daughter Suri six months ago.



Is this true love or will the marriage, the most famous Scientology union since L Ron Hubbard founded the church 50 years ago, end up a farce? Is Tom attempting to mould the 27-year-old ex-Dawson’s Creek actress into a glamorous Hollywood icon, as he did in 1990 when he married a shy 23-year-old actress called Nicole Kidman?



In this MSN special, we investigate the likelihood of Katie’s fairytale having a happy ending.



Will it last? Is Katie crazy? Join in the debate on the message boards



The controversial Scientology wedding

Katie’s parents, devout Catholics, are said to be horrified by the Scientology wedding, and it's easy to understand why. There are five different versions of the vows in Scientology ceremonies, ranging from the 'Traditional' to the 'Double Ring'. In the Traditional version, the groom is told that 'girls' need 'clothes and food and tender happiness and frills, a pan, a comb, perhaps a cat' and is asked to provide them all.



If that wasn’t bad enough, the instructions to the bride must have left Katie’s parents fuming. The bride is told that 'young men are free and may forget' their promises. Hmm, like their wedding vows, perhaps?



Sure, it’s unlikely Tom and Katie chose the traditional vows, but her family aren’t happy that she’s marrying into a religion with such controversial views.



Katie’s (lack of) career and (lack of) friends

Until just over a year ago, Katie lived in New York, had a large group of friends her own age and a burgeoning film career after success in movies like Batman Begins, The Gift and Phone Booth.



Since meeting Tom, Katie’s moved to Los Angles, ditched all her New York friends and put her career on hold. She did no publicity interviews for her most recent film, Thank You for Smoking, despite being contracted to do so, hasn’t taken on any work for two years and has no future projects lined up. Perhaps canny Katie is wary of the fact that as Nicole’s star rose with roles in films such as The Hours and Moulin Rouge, her marriage to Tom suffered.



Katie’s reinvention seems to have also affected the wedding guest list. Katie’s friends and family are under-represented in Italy, with Tom’s A-list pals making up the bulk of the party. Jim Carrey, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have been spotted in Rome; other guests include Michael Douglas, George Clooney, John Travolta, Brad and Angelina, and Priscilla and Lisa Presley. All Tom’s friends; all Tom’s age. Even the wedding entertainment is Tom’s choice – opera singer Andrea Bocelli. Not the top artist on Kate’s MP3 player, we bet.

Katie was a teenage fan of Tom

Weirdly, Katie has openly admitted to being a big fan of Tom’s as a teenager, with posters of her main man plastered all over her bedroom walls. And her fantasy when she was young was to, you guessed it, marry Tom Cruise! "We all keep dreaming, and luckily, dreams come true," she gushed during an interview.



There is no doubtshe is on one hell of a ride, living the fairy tale and happily letting Tom groom her into a woman older than her 27 years. He has already enlisted the help of Armani, who designed the wedding outfits, to introduce Katie to couture wear, and instead of seeing old friends and staring in films, Katie spends her time being mother to Suri, stepmother to Tom’s two children aged 11 and 13, and attending classes at the Scientology Centre in Los Angeles.



At least we can rest easy with the knowledge that when the marriage hits Splitsville, which does seem inevitable, Katie will be seriously cashed up. According to the pre-nup, she will receive $3million per year for each year that she is married to Tom, up to a maximum of $33million, plus a home in California. And, lucky for Kate, her father, Martin Holmes, is a top divorce lawyer.