LOS ANGELES - Fairytale Hollywood couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announced Friday they were calling it quits after five years of marriage, ending an unexpected love story dogged by tabloid rumors.

"Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children," Amanda Lundberg, Cruise's representative, told AFP.

"Please allow them their privacy to work this out."

"This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," said Jonathan Wolfe, the attorney representing Holmes. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest."

Cruise, who turns 50 on Tuesday, wed Holmes, 33, in a storybook Italian castle in November 2006 after declaring his love for the former "Dawson's Creek" star live on "Oprah" - famously hopping on a couch in the studio.

It was Holmes's first marriage and Cruise's third. They have a six-year-old daughter, Suri.

The "TomKat" split comes just 10 days after the "amicable" parting of US actor Johnny Depp and French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis, and will doubtless lead to renewed chatter about the pressures on Hollywood couples.

Holmes has admitted to having a teenage crush on Cruise, even saying she had put up a poster of the "Top Gun" star in her bedroom.

After a whirlwind courtship that culminated in a proposal under the Eiffel Tower in June 2005, what followed resembled a fairytale - at first.

Fireworks lit up the night sky above the 15th-century Odescalchi castle near Rome when Cruise and Holmes tied the knot on November 18, 2006.

Glitterati from the worlds of cinema, sports and music were on hand at the sprawling estate perched above the lakeside town of Bracciano as Holmes offered her hand to the "Mission Impossible" star, who has three Oscar nominations.

Italian media reported that American Scientology leader David Miscavige officiated at the event, arguably the most high-profile Scientology wedding to date, in a ceremony that lasted no more than 15 minutes.

Reports at the time said that under the prenuptial agreement, Holmes - who converted to Scientology - would receive $3 million for every year of the marriage plus ownership of a California mansion if they split.

But it remains to be seen how the stylish, dark-haired duo - often snapped at glittery events alongside soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria - will handle the custody of their daughter, who has been called one of Hollywood's most fashionable youngsters.

According to the website TMZ.com, Holmes wants sole custody.

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