After Scoffing at Rumors, Cruise Pops the Question

June, 17, 2005 — -- What a difference three days make: On Tuesday, Tom Cruise was shooting down rumors that he was on the verge of proposing to Katie Holmes. Now, he's ready to walk down the aisle and she's sporting a big rock on her finger.

"It's ridiculous," Cruise told reporters in Germany, at a June 14 press conference to promote his forthcoming film, "War of the Worlds."

"Listen, something magnificent has happened to me, and it's something extraordinary. It's something that I'm so happy about I can't restrain myself. That's how I feel, you know? She's really an extraordinary woman and I'm really, really happy."

Cruise's happiness presumably soared to astronomical new heights today in Paris, when he made his big announcement.

"Yes, I proposed to her," he told a gaggle of reporters. "It was early this morning at the Eiffel Tower, so I haven't slept at all. Today is a magnificent day for me, I'm engaged to a magnificent woman."

Both stars have been in Europe promoting their films. Holmes appears in "Batman Begins," which opened Wednesday, and earned an impressive $15 million at the box office in just 24 hours. Cruise's film opens next Friday.

The timing of the relationship, which dovetails perfectly with both of their summer movie premieres, has sparked more than a little suspicion that Hollywood's hottest couple is squeezing their relationship for all its promotional value. The pair began dating in early April.

Once hesitant to discuss his personal life and combative with the press about his belief in Scientology, Cruise has been openly giddy in recent weeks. His mid-May interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," when he literally jumped on the couch proclaiming his love for Holmes, may yet prove to be one of the year's most memorable TV events.

In recent days, Cruise has repeated his happy dance in interviews with Jay Leno, among others. It's an amazing turnaround for the 42-year-old star. Following his 2001 breakup with Nicole Kidman, he begged the press for privacy. On a press tour for "Minority Report," Cruise's publicist began interviews saying that Cruise would not take questions on Penelope Cruz, the woman he was dating at the time, or his divorce.