Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas Are Keeping Their Rumored Romance Private

Last week, photos emerged of Ana de Armas holding hands with Tom Cruise, seemingly confirming a months-long rumour of a romance between the pair. It didn’t go as viral as I expected it to, mostly because the news came up at a time when we were reeling from two far more unexpected celebrity hook-ups (no, seriously, is Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau actually happening?!) Given that this story involves one of the most enduring mega-stars of the past three decades and an Oscar-nominated actress who played Marilyn Monroe, you’d think it’d be more feverishly covered. But so far, reports on the budding romance have been very muted. That’s new, given that Cruise’s last big relationship began with a brash and inescapable press tour of couch-jumping and grand declarations of love. TomKat, this ain’t.

A recent article from PEOPLE, billed as coming from an ‘exclusive source’, talked about how the pair ‘had a great break together’ during their recent getaway to Vermont, where de Armas has a home. ‘She loves spending time with him,’ said the source. She took him to all of her favourite places in town, including a local bookshop and the Billings Farm and Museum. Tom was just like any other visitor. A separate source, we’re told, said that the two have ‘become incredibly close.’

But the important focus is on how de Armas and Cruise are prepping for their first movie together, Doug Liman’s Deeper. ‘Now, they are still very focused on kicking off their new project together […] It’s her first time working with Tom and she wants to bring her best. She knows Tom has high standards on set, but she’s ready for the challenge.’

This whole PEOPLE piece is fascinatingly professional, like they’re describing two colleagues who respect one another but also occasionally hold hands and maybe have sex. They get on so well! They’re preparing to star in a movie together! Everyone in Vermont loved Cruise! Ana is ready for the challenge of working with a legend! Remember, when the pair were first photographed together, sources jumped to insist that it was all work-related and not romantic. The more they were seen with one another in public, including at a recent Oasis concert, the more the rumours of a relationship bubbled up. Now, we have a confirmation? Kinda? And it’s weirdly cold and straightforward?

I would find this all far more normal if it didn’t involve one of the least normal people in Hollywood. Tom Cruise is a three-time divorcee whose longest relationship has been with Scientology. His love life has been remarkably quiet for a celebrity of his stature. Maybe that’s because we’re all still living in the shadow of TomKat, when he swept Katie Holmes off her feet and had us all wondering if he’d lost his mind.

It’s been 20 years since Cruise jumped on the couch and declared his undying love for Holmes. His over-the-top celebrations and the speed of their courtship — from meeting to engaged in six weeks — were both captivating and very weird. They kissed like they were posing for a calendar. They turned up at the War of the Worlds premiere on a motorcycle. Holmes was so blissfully in love that she did the splits during an interview (carefully watched over by a Scientology minder). And nobody bought it. Going from single to married with a baby in one year would be dizzying for anyone, but the involvement of a notoriously intense mega-star with ties to a deeply suspect organisation, forever mired in lawsuits and scandal, made people concerned for poor Holmes. They made ‘Free Katie’ t-shirts to spread the message.

Everything about the TomKat romance was fodder for the tabloids. The majority of the coverage I remember from this era was not positive. So many people suspected it was a PR set-up, one that Katie might not have even been in on, akin to Princess Diana being the only person who didn’t know her marriage to Prince Charles was arranged. When Suri was born (on the first anniversary of her parents’ meeting, apparently), they waited seven months to reveal her to the world, via a lavish Vanity Fair spread photographed by Annie Leibowitz. At their extravagant Italian wedding, Katie seemed to be crouching in pictures so that Tom would look taller. It was all odd, to put it bluntly, in part because it was so loudly broadcast to the world by Cruise. He wanted everyone to know he was wildly in love with Joey Potter and not normal about it.

Being a big puppy in love wasn’t what hindered Cruise’s career at that time — being weirdly cultish and insulting Brooke Shields over her use of antidepressants was more harmful — but it did put a dent in his mystique. He seemed cringe, not cool. There was an unsettling quality to him that it took about 15 or so years for him to shake off. Focusing exclusively on the work, on the kinds of big-budget stunt-driven action spectaculars that only he could make, renewed his cultural and commercial clout.

Nowadays, Cruise has regained the public’s love, mostly through doing wild stunt work in Mission: Impossible movies and leaning into his image as Mr. Invincible. He doesn’t talk about his private life or much of anything personality-driven in interviews. He’s a loud champion for cinemas and the industry, which has garnered him much praise. Soon, he’ll be an honourary Oscar winner. That’s easier to do when people aren’t asking questions about why you haven’t seen your daughter in several years and if you’re still allegedly auditioning women to be your wife.

Every time Cruise has been rumoured to be dating or interested in a woman post-Katie, it’s never evolved into an official reveal. Remember when there was gossip that he was with Hayley Atwell? With de Armas, this is the first major romance he’s (allegedly) been in for almost 13 years. That’s a lot for an A-Lister, whose every move is detailed with precise fervour. I’m not sure what’s changed, but it is intriguing to see how he’s decided to keep this one relatively low-key.

De Armas is obviously in a different position than Holmes was when she met Cruise. She’s older and more established in the film industry. She’s been married before. She hasn’t become engaged within six weeks of meeting Cruise. Plus, she’s an ambitious actress who’s currently trying to carve out a niche for herself as an action star. Being associated with Cruise, at least professionally, has been a boon for many a Mission: Impossible supporting player. Of course, it could just be that she likes Cruise and his one-tone brown hair. Stranger things have happened. We saw him on that couch.