Tom Cruise's 50th birthday was apparently not a very happy event.

The Hollywood star had just returned from filming Oblivion in Iceland and was supposed to have spent the milestone day in New York with wife Katie Holmes and daughter Suri.

But in light of the 33-year-old's divorce filing last week, Tom went directly to his lavish home in Beverly Hills with his older kids Bella, 19, and Connor, 17, and was joined by several family members.

"They were all together, and one of the reasons he came back to California was that he had to take his family back to LA," a source told People magazine adding he also wanted to avoid the paparazzi frenzy in the Big Apple.

"It's an impossible situation and he does not want to subject his daughter to any more trauma," the source said and claimed that Tom is now having to make do with regular calls with Suri, sometimes several chats a day.

"Say what you will about Tom, but there is no doubt he loves his daughter," a second source maintained. "Not seeing her would be very hard on him.

The mood on Tom's birthday was apparently "somber," an insider revealed. "Just very, very sad."