There’s nobody like Tom Cruise. He’s charismatic, he’s eccentric, he’s controversial, and he’s everybody’s beloved. He has made some of the most quotable films of all time yet has dedicated the last decade of his career to performing some of the most dangerous stunts ever. His unpredictability is arguably his greatest weapon, and we struggle to find a more perfect word to describe his love life.
Cruise has been world-famous since the 1980s, and in that time, he’s been linked to several different women. The interesting thing to note here, especially given Cruise’s desire for privacy, is that nearly all the women he’s dated are celebrities. Apparently, the Mission: Impossible actor likes to fraternize with other actors. Cruise’s latest girlfriend is literally his Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One co-star! However, before we jump ahead too quickly, let’s step back and begin at the very start.
Melissa Gilbert
Cruise’s relationship with Melissa Gilbert predates the name Cruise! Gilbert appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live in 2014, and she revealed that the actor was still going by his birth name when they first met. “I was maybe 16 or 17,” she recalled. “Actually, when I dated him, he was still Tom Mapother.”
Both Cruise and Gilbert were actors in 1981, but their situations could not have been more different. The former had just made his film debut in Endless Love (1981), and the latter was one of the cast members on the hit show Little House on the Prairie (1974-83). “He was like a struggling, starving actor, and I was working,” Gilbert added. “I actually bought him his first set of dishes.” They broke up within a few months.
Patti Scialfa
There are claims that Cruise romanced Heather Locklear and Rebecca de Mornay during the early 80s, but neither relationship has been confirmed by the people involved, so we felt like they shouldn’t warrant their own entry. However, what has been confirmed is the brief romance between Cruise and Patti Scialfa in 1985.
In a 1988 profile on Scialfa, People Magazine revealed that she dated Cruise before moving on to her future husband (and fellow E Street Band member) Bruce Springsteen. “Patti was hardly a nun before she met Bruce,” a source told People. “She doesn’t go out with accountants.” Scialfa and Springsteen have been married since 1991.
Cher
Tom Cruise and Cher dating already seems like the epitome of 80s pop culture, but it gets even better when you consider where they met: the 1985 wedding of Sean Penn and Madonna. These circumstances are so bizarre and hilarious that they sound made up. We digress. Cruise and Cher dated for a year, and while things didn’t last between them, there didn’t appear to be any hard feelings. Cher even listed Cruise as one of her top five lovers on a 2013 Watch What Happens Live episode.
Cher also marked the last time Cruise dated someone more famous than he was. Cher was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet and had just earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Mask (1985). Cruise released Top Gun the following year, and things were never the same.
Mimi Rogers
Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers in 1987. They were together for three years, and BBC News theorized that Rogers was actually the person who introduced Cruise to the Church of Scientology. Either way, their romance was not built to last. Rogers cited intimacy issues, and then there were discrepancies in their respective careers.
Rogers’ career ran parallel with Cruise’s. She also made her film debut in 1981 and earned critical praise for her performances in Gung Ho (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me, and Street Smart (both 1987), but Cruise’s megastardom led to her being overlooked in the media. “No matter what the article is, it’s ‘Tom Cruise‘s wife’,” Rogers told People. She received a $4 million settlement from the divorce.
Nicole Kidman
Cruise quickly rebounded from the Rogers marriage and started dating Nicole Kidman. The two had met during the making of Days of Thunder (1990) and were already two years into their marriage by the time they made Far and Away (1992). Cruise and Kidman were one of the premiere celebrity couples of the decade, and their third collaboration, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), drew attention for its scandalous depiction of a marriage on the rocks.
Eventually, the issues bled into real life. Cruise and Kidman divorced in 2001 and released a joint statement citing “difficulties inherent in divergent careers.” They remain co-parents to their adopted children, Isabella Jane and Connor Antony.
Penelope Cruz
Cruise likes to rebound quickly, and he did it again while making Vanilla Sky (2001). He started dating co-star Penelope Cruz, who played his love interest in the film, and despite their shared fame, they maintained a relatively low profile. They dated until 2004 when their amicable split was chalked up to scheduling conflicts and a general acceptance that things had run their course.
At the time, Lee Anne DeVette, Cruise’s sister and publicist, told People: “They broke up at the end of January, and it’s amicable.” Cruz’s publicist, Robert Garlock, went as far as to state that the actors stayed in touch after splitting. “They remain good friends and still talk often,” he assured fans. “There is no other person involved.”
Katie Holmes
We wonder if you need a refresher on this one. Cruise went on The Oprah Winfrey Show to jump on the host’s couch and declare his love for Katie Holmes in one of the most cringe-inducing interviews ever. That being said, the couch jumping worked, and Cruise and Holmes were wed in 2005. They had a daughter named Suri the following year and remained steady tabloid fodder until their divorce in 2012.
Holmes told In Style that the attention of being married to Cruise was often overwhelming. “That time was intense,” she admitted. “It was a lot of attention, and I had a little child on top of it. We had some funny moments out and about in public.”
Hayley Atwell
Cruise’s love life has slowed down, but things picked up with Hayley Atwell during the making of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The Sun reports that Cruise and Atwell started dating in 2020, when Dead Reckoning Part One was going into production, and remained a couple until their split in May 2022.
While a reason for their official split was not given, Cruise and Atwell appear to be friendly with one another during the press junkets. Atwell even attended the premiere of Cruise’s film Top Gun: Maverick (2022) to show her support. Both are currently single.