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A representative for Tom Cruise has asked the media to respect the actor's privacy as the "deeply saddened" star works through his divorce from third wife Katie Holmes.

The Batman Begins actress filed papers to end the couple's five year marriage in New York on Thursday, and it appears the split is about to get ugly - Holmes, who has cited "irreconcilable differences" for the split, is requesting sole legal custody and "primary residential custody" of the couple's daughter Suri, six, according to TMZ.com.

Cruise, who turns 50 on Tuesday, was reportedly "blindsided" by Holmes' decision to call it quits and now his spokesperson has asked the press to give the Hollywood actor some space as he comes to terms with the break-up.

A brief statement reads: "Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children. Please allow them their privacy."

Cruise is also father to two adopted kids from his second marriage to Nicole Kidman.

The Mission: Impossible hunk famously proclaimed his love for Holmes during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in May, 2005, when an excited Cruise jumped up and down on a studio couch as he revealed all about his new romance.

He was still gushing about their "very special" relationship during a candid chat with Playboy magazine in May, when Cruise told the publication, "She is an extraordinary person, and if you spent five minutes with her, you'd see it. Everything she does, she does with this beautiful creativity. She's funny and charming, and when she walks into the room, I just feel better... I'm just happy, and I have been since the moment I met her. What we have is very special."