Why Tom Cruise hasn't seen his daughter Suri in years.

From the moment Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah Winfrey’s couch in 2005, declaring his newfound and deep love for Katie Holmes, every movement of the couple’s lives attracted attention from the tabloid media. Being their daughter, Suri Cruise , who was born in April, 2006, became one of the most famous celebrity babies of the decade.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, or TomKat as they were known at the time, were the picture-perfect couple of the noughties. The paparazzi never left them alone, and almost every photo that emerged of them had Suri in it, so often being carried by her father.

When the couple announced their divorce in 2012, rumours quickly circulated that Tom’s belief in the Church of Scientology played a significant role.

Katie converted to Scientology ahead of their wedding in 2006, but parted ways with the controversial religion after their divorce.

Since 2013, images of Tom with Suri have ceased to exist, whilst pictures of Katie with her daughter remain aplenty.

For many years, the celebrity-loving public have questioned why the actor has seemingly stopped all communication with Suri.

According to Us Weekly this week, Tom is allowed to see Suri, now 12 years old, ten days a month as outlined in their divorce settlement. But has chosen not to due to his religious beliefs.

"Every person is allowed to see their child if they wanted to," a source told the magazine. "He chooses not to because she is not a Scientologist."

Reportedly, it is Scientology's 'disconnection' policy between current and former members of the church that has been one of the main contributing factors for Suri's estrangement from her father.

According to the Scientology website, L. Ron Hubbard (the founder of the church) defines disconnection as "a self-determined decision made by an individual that he is not going to be connected to another. It is a severing of a communication line."

Tom Cruise also has two children with Nicole Kidman, Isabella and Connor, who the couple adopted during their 11-year marriage. The children chose to remain members of the Church of Scientology after their parents' divorce and are now reportedly estranged from their Australian mother.

Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini, who was a member of the controversial religion for decades and close to Tom at the time, wrote a tell-all memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, in which she recounts a conversation she had with Tom and Nicole's children.

"Over the years at the Celebrity Centre I had watched Tom and Nicole Kidman's children grow up, but more recently I'd gotten to know them better by spending time with them at Tom's house," she said. "I had always wondered why they didn't have a relationship with their mum, but I could never ask them, because there was always someone else around.

"Driving to the airport alone with them, I had my chance."

According to Remini, she asked if they got to see their mum, to which Bella responded, "not if I have a choice" and said Nicole was a "f***in SP [suppressive person]".

LISTEN: Actress Leah Remini on her time as a Scientologist.