ONTD

It's only a matter of days since actress Katie Holmes announced she is expecting Tom Cruise's baby.
But the mystery is how she managed to conceal the news for so long.

Although the 27-year-old claims to be only three months pregnant, she appeared much more than that when she went with Cruise to watch his adopted daughter Isabelle play football in a Los Angeles park at the weekend.

"She had a very considerable bump, and you could see her belly button through her floaty top," said another parent. "To me she looked more like a girl who was five months pregnant than three. If she does still have six months of her term left to go, she is going to be as big as a house by the time the baby arrives."

Although her conversion to Cruise's religion Scientology means she will not be allowed painkilling drugs and must remain silent throughout the birth, Miss Holmes is said to be 'excited' at the prospect of starting a family with the actor, who has never fathered a child before.

Cruise, 43, split from his first wife, actress Mimi Rogers, after three years and adopted Isabelle, 12, and Conor, ten, during his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

But last week Cruise's sister Lee Anne Devette - who also acts as the couple's publicist - announced that despite the fact they have only known each other since April, Miss Holmes was pregnant.

It was another unexpected twist in a relationship which has been the subject of widespread doubt and even derision.

When the couple revealed they were dating, back in the spring, both had blockbuster movies due for release and it was widely dismissed as a publicity stunt after it was reported that Cruise had 'auditioned' several young Hollywood actresses for the part of his girlfriend.

But eight weeks later Cruise held a press conference in Paris to tell journalists he had proposed to Miss Holmes the previous night.

At that stage the Internet and American gossip magazines were awash with stories suggesting that Miss Holmes had signed a contract agreeing to marry Cruise and even bear him children for a set time period in return for a multi-million-pound payoff.

However, the couple have strongly denied claims that their romance is anything but genuine.

Miss Holmes found fame on the teenage TV drama Dawson's Creek and was engaged to 26-year-old actor Chris Klein until January this year.

Before meeting Cruise she had often expressed her desire to remain a virgin until her wedding night.

SOURCE