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Mimi Rogers, Tom Cruise and the marriage that gave Scientology its most-famous son

Mimi Rogers and Tom Cruise exchanged vows in 1987, following which 'Top Gun: Maverick' actor joined the controversial organization

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tom Cruise, who sparked rumors of a romance with Shakira after they were spotted together at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix on May 7, was trolled about his association with Scientology as fans warned Shakira to not date him because of his links to the organization. One of them wrote, “SHAKIRA! LISTEN TO ME! HE'S TRYING TO RECRUIT YOU INTO SCIENTOLOGY! DON'T GO OUT WITH HIM!”

The 60-year-old actor is known for his very long and deep association with the organization, but it was his first wife, Mimi Rogers, who introduced him to it. Cruise, who had been married thrice, exchanged vows with Rogers in 1987. However, they parted in 1990.

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Where is Mimi Rogers?

Reports suggest Rogers is in Los Angeles and married to film producer Chris Ciaffa. The duo got married on March 20, 2003, after they met on the sets of Ivan Passer's made-for-cable movie 'Fourth Story' in 1990, per TheThings. They have a daughter, Lucy, who was born on November 20, 1994, and a son, ASU baseball player Charlie, who was born on July 30, 2001.

In 1995, Rogers reportedly said that she was "waiting for the moment when I don't have to talk about that [blankety-blank] name anymore." However, the situation didn't change in 2006 and she said that she still had to face questions about Cruise, despite being married to Ciaffa. She said, "I've had two kids since then, I can barely remember my own name let alone be remembering something almost seventeen years ago."

According to The Famous People, Rogers, who is now 67, played Honey Chandler in ‘Bosch’ from 2015 to 2019. From 2016 to 2019, she played various roles in TV series and movies including ‘Mad Men,’ 'Blue Bloods,’ ‘NCIS: Los Angeles,’ ‘The Stranger Game,’ ‘Falling Up,’ ‘Affairs of State’ and ‘What Still Remains'. 

When did Mimi Rogers join Scientology?

Rogers' father, Philip C Spickler, a civil engineer, was Jewish and her mother Kathy Talent, was Episcopalian. Her connection to Scientology comes from her father who became part of the organization before she was born. The organization became a major part of her upbrining. In 1977, she married Scientologist Jim Rogers, and they started a field auditing office in Sherman Oaks called the Scientology Enhancement Centre, stated The Underground Bunker. However, they divorced in 1980, following which she married Cruise.

Why did Mimi Rogers and Tom Cruise split?

In a 1993 interview with Playboy, Rogers revealed the reason why she and Cruise split. She said, as per E! News, "Is that the story, that I was bored with that child and threw him over, chewed him up and spat him out? Well, here's the real story. Tom was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. At least for that period of time, it looked as though marriage wouldn't fit into his overall spiritual need. And he thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument. My instrument needed tuning."

However, a Page Six reported stated that former church executive and co-host of the series 'Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath', Mike Rinderin, who left Scientology in 2007, claimed in his new memoir, 'A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology,' that the organization's officials were assigned to talk Rogers into agreeing to divorce Cruise, since he became infatuated with his co-star Nicole Kidman while filming 1990's 'Days of Thunder' and was climbing the ladder of fame. However, he was married to Rogers at that time.

As per the book, church leader David Miscavige “had been invited to Daytona, to watch the filming. He and his trusted lieutenant Greg Wilhere, now assigned as Cruise’s personal auditor, hung out with Cruise at the Speedway, went skydiving with him, and most importantly helped facilitate Cruise’s desire to make Nicole his new wife. Miscavige no doubt saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate his ability to make Tom’s wishes come true.”

Cruise and Rogers eventually got divorced in February 1990 and the latter cut ties with the organization. The same year on Christmas Eve, he married Kidman and Miscavige was his best man. Rinder wrote, “It was indicative of how far Miscavige was willing to go to ally Cruise."

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