Why Tom Cruise hasn't seen Suri 'in years'

Suri Cruise and Tom Cruise visit Charles River Basin on October 10, 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo / Getty

During Tom Cruise's marriage to Katie Holmes barely a photo opp went by that didn't include the couple's daughter.

Suri was the apple of Cruise's eye, with the movie star trotting out his infant daughter at everything from movie premieres to A-list parties.

But after his 2012 divorce from Holmes a strange thing has happened — Cruise hasn't been photographed with Suri for five years.

Tom Cruise and Suri Cruise visit a Central Park West playground on September 7, 2010 in New York City. Photo / Getty

The Mission Impossible star was last seen in public with his daughter in 2013, when she was seven.

In the meantime Suri, now 12, has been frequently photographed at her mother Holmes' side in New York where they now live.

According to US Weekly, Cruise is able to see Suri up to 10 days a month but hasn't seen her "in years" because of his religion.

"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."

The Dawson's Creek star was rumoured to have primary custody of Suri in her divorce agreement with Cruise.

Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise enjoy a night at American Ballet Theater at Lincoln Center on May 21, 2018 in New York City. Photo / Getty

According to ex-Scientologist Leah Remini, Holmes isn't allowed to eat with Remini because it could see Holmes lose custody of Suri — claims denied by the church.

"We used to be close friends," Remini told LaPalme magazine. "It's quite sick, really."

Holmes and Cruise became engaged in 2005 after a quick and at times bizarre public romance.

During a now infamous appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Cruise jumped on the talk show host's sofa to declare his feelings for Holmes.

"I'm in love! I'm in love," Cruise yelled while fist pumping the air. "I can't be cool. I can't be laid-back. It's something that has happened, and I feel I want to celebrate it. I want to celebrate her. She's a very special woman."

Suri Cruise is seen arriving at her hotel on April 28, 2018 in New York, New York. Photo / Getty

The couple welcomed daughter Suri in April 2006, tying the knot in a lavish Italian ceremony later that year attended by the likes of Victoria and David Beckham.

Cruise was previously married to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001, the couple adopting two children together; Isabella, now 25, and Connor, now 23.

Prior to that Cruise was wed to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990.

Since splitting from Cruise, Holmes is now dating actor Jamie Foxx, the couple going public with their relationship in 2017 after years of speculation.