As death, destruction and threats of nuclear war populate news headlines internationally, the world turned its head and drunk in the distraction of Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx this week.
After all, there’s something particularly refreshing about two likable figures finally confirming a long-held rumour that they are, in fact, dating.
The likeable Jamie Foxx, 49, and the equally as likeable Katie Holmes, 38, have held the media at arms length for more than four years, dodging questions, persistent queries and the ever reliable anonymous source ‘close to the family’.
And then, with nothing more than a held hand and a walk along the beach, the duo all but confirmed we are just as smart as we thought we were. Yes, they are together, and yes, it was probably a Tom Cruise contract clause that was keeping them from the public eye all along.
Of course, Holmes and Cruise married in November 2006, after getting engaged just seven weeks into dating. In June 2012, Holmes filed for divorce, with the rumours – albiet, unconfirmed – being the actress was concerned about the Church of Scientology and what Cruise’s dedication to the church meant for the couple’s now 11-year-old daughter, Suri. The divorce was rushed. Remarkably so. 10 days after Holmes filed the paperwork, the divorce was finalised, with Radar Online reporting Cruise was particularly specific about his conditions for how the divorce would play out. One condition, they reported, was that Holmes was forbidden from “from embarrassing Tom in various ways”. This meant she was unable to date publicly for five years after the divorce, if she was to receive US$5.8 million in child support and US$6.2 million for herself.