AS Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes battle over where their divorce will be filed and custody of their daughter Suri, it appears the Hollywood star's unlucky number is 33.

All three of his ex-wives called it quits when they reached that age, the Daily Mail online reported.

Mimi Rogers,Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmeswere all in their early thirties when their marriages to the Hollywood leading man took a turn for the worse.

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Fans of the heartbroken star searched for a meaning, some postulating that the number 33 is related somehow to Mr Cruise's religion, Scientology.

Cruise married Mimi Rogers when she was 31 in May of 1987. She was 33 when they broke up in 1990. In his second marriage to Nicole Kidman, the thespians stayed together for ten years. They split in 2001, when she was 33.

His wedding with Katie Holmes was in 2006 when she was 28 and this week, when she filed for divorce, she had reached the ripe old age of 33.

In each case, divorce proceedings began when the wives were 33 and concluded when the were 34.

Blogger Perez Hilton dug deep into Scientology to find out what, if any importance there is to the number 33. Turns out, the first Church of Scientology was established in Phoenix, Arizona, which lies on the 33rd parallel.

In numerology, the number 33 is for the 'master teacher' represented by the Archangel Michael. The number 33 is associated with the power of healing through love; people with the life path number 33 are totally selfless and love unconditionally.

Regardless of the positive connotations, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's divorce will not be recognised by the church of Scientology, according to church documents.

There is a belief in the church of Scientology that marital problems come from "withholds" or "overts" - undiscussed issues or problems.

Holmes is believed to have blind-sided her husband by initiating divorce proceedings and seeking sole custody of their daughter Suri in New York where under state laws she allegedly has a better chance. With sole custody of Suri, Holmes would be able to remove her daughter from the Church of Scientology despite her husband's enthusiasm for it.

Cruise meanwhile will reportedly take steps to ensure he secures joint custody of Suri by preparing to file a response asking that the divorce proceedings in New York be halted.

"Cruise is going to assert that Katie doesn't meet the residency requirements to file in New York, and that both live full time in California, specifically Los Angeles," the source explains.

The source adds that Cruise then has plans to file for divorce in California, where he "will most likely request joint custody of Suri".

"There is absolutely no way that he is going let Katie have sole custody. The lines are being drawn, and this is going to shape up to be a very contentious custody battle." .

The estranged couple have been raising Suri in accordance with the doctrine of the Church of Scientology - treating her as an adult, free to make her own decisions.

The actress cited "irreconcilable differences" as the cause to the split.

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Originally published as Cruise's unlucky number