On screen, we’ve seen him come to rescue of his love interests countless times—whether as Maverick in Top Gun or Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise—but in real life, Tom Cruise’s dating history might as well be a blockbuster saga of its own.
Related: Get to know Tom Cruise’s kids with Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes
Cruise has been one of Hollywood’s golden boys for decades, and unsurprisingly, his romantic resume reads like a Who’s Who of the entertainment industry. From quick flings to multiple “I do’s,” the actor’s love life has already had more twists and turns than a Mission: Impossible plot—and even into his 60s, it doesn’t look like the Golden Globe-winner has any intentions of stopping his search for romance.
In a candid interview with Rolling Stone in 1986, a young Cruise shared his thoughts on dating. “Relationships are hard,” he admitted to the magazine. “You have to know when you’re going to be in a different place from someone else, you have to have the strength to separate. People are more prone to stay together for the security, which is something in my life that I have really not done, in relationships or even in business. If something’s not working, you’ve got to face it and move on.”
It looks like Tom was already giving us a sneak peek into the love life philosophy that would guide him throughout his career. Decades later, it has led to a dating history about as long as his filmography.
A look back at Tom Cruise’s girlfriends and dating history
Up ahead, we’re taking a look back at Tom Cruise’s dating history—from his early days in Hollywood to his high-profile marriages with Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, and beyond.
Melissa Gilbert (1981-1983)
Long before his Mission Impossible days, Tom Cruise was like any other struggling actor with dreams of making it big. He was still going by his real name, Tom Mapother, when he met Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert. Their relationship was a teenage romance—and Gilbert still remembers it fondly.
“Actually, when I dated him, he was Tom Mapother still,” Gilbert revealed on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2014. She was about 16 or 17 when they met, and their relationship was more innocent than anything. “I did not have sex with him. We made out, but honestly, there was no sex,” she shared.
Gilbert even played a supporting role in Cruise’s early career. “He was like a struggling, starving actor and I was working. I actually bought him his first set of dishes,” she joked.
Cher (1985)
For a brief moment of ’80s bliss, Tom Cruise dated the legendary Cher. While their time together was short, it certainly left an impact on the Moonstruck actress.
In a 2013 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Cher gushed about her “hot and heavy” relationship with Cruise, who ranked as one of her “top five” lovers ever. “He wasn’t a Scientologist then. It was pretty hot and heavy for a little minute,” she said.
Things seemed to end on a friendly note, as she only had positive things to say about Cruise. “He’s a great guy. The person that I knew was a great and lovable guy,” she added. We’ll take that as pretty high praise coming from a woman who’s dated some of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors!
Mimi Rogers (1986-1990)
Tom Cruise’s first walk down the aisle was with actress Mimi Rogers. The couple tied the knot in May 1987, just a year after meeting. For Cruise, this relationship marked a major milestone in his personal life.
“I’d never been in love before,” he gushed to Rolling Stone before their split. “Since I’ve been with her, it’s opened me up a lot. I think it’s helped me be a better actor. We live a lot of life together. We share everything,” he said, adding, “She’s my best friend.”
Despite the initial passion, their relationship was short-lived. The pair divorced three years later in 1990, marking the end of Cruise’s first marriage.
Nicole Kidman (1990-2001)
One of Cruise’s most famous relationships to date was with Australian actress Nicole Kidman. Their union was the stuff of Hollywood dreams, spanning a decade and including two adopted children, Isabella Jane, born in 1992, and Connor Antony, born in 1995.
Cruise and Kidman seemed to have it all: successful careers, a beautiful family, and a love that appeared to be pretty unshakeable. But by 2001, the couple surprised fans with news of their separation.
Cruise remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind their split. “She knows why, and I know why,” he told Vanity Fair in October 2001. “She’s the mother of my children, and I wish her well. I think that you just move on. And I don’t say that lightly. I don’t say that with anything. Things happen in life, and you do everything you can, and in every possible way, and there’s a point at which you just sometimes have to face the brutal reality.”
Penelope Cruz (2001-2004)
After his divorce from Nicole Kidman, Cruise found love again with Spanish actress Penelope Cruz. The pair met on the set of Vanilla Sky in 2000 and went on to date for three years. Cruise appeared to be pretty smitten from the start: “As a person and on film, she invites you in, and she’s incredibly romantic, and yet, real, you know?” hetoldVanity Fairin January 2002. “I thought, My God, I’m your boyfriend. You’re my girlfriend! … Cruise and Cruz!”
However, like many relationships in Hollywood, the demands of their careers ultimately took a toll. The couple broke things off in March 2004, and a source told People magazine at the time that the relationship simply “ran its course.” The source added that their separate and distance-filled filming schedules had a lot to do with the breakup.
Sofia Vergara (2005)
You didn’t have this one on your radar, did you now? As it turns out, Tom Cruise’s dating history includes a brief encounter with none other than Sofia Vergara. According to Andrew Morton, author of Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, this rumored romance was more complicated than it seemed on the surface.
As part of his work with the church of Scientology, Morton claims that Cruise had to provide church leaders with a list of women he was interested in pursuing. Vergara, then an up-and-coming actor in the early 2000s, was reportedly on that list.
However, the relationship never fully materialized. Morton wrote, “It soon became clear that she was being auditioned for the biggest role of her life—Mrs. Tom Cruise. It was made clear that if she took the part, she would have to renounce her Catholic faith and convert to Scientology.” This apparent ultimatum seems to have been the deal-breaker for Vergara.
Katie Holmes (2005-2012)
Tom Cruise’s relationship with Katie Holmes was nothing short of a media sensation. Their whirlwind romance, punctuated by Cruise’s infamous couch-jumping incident on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show, captivated tons of attention during the early days of their relationship.
The couple welcomed daughter Suri in April 2006 and tied the knot in a lavish Italian ceremony later that year. For a time, they seemed to be the perfect Hollywood family. However, after nearly six years of marriage, Holmes filed for divorce in 2012. Details of their split remain private, but include many whispers about Scientology being at the crux of their split. What we do know, of course, is that the end of “TomKat” marked another major closed chapter in Cruise’s complex romantic history.
Elsina Khayrova (2023-2024)
In December 2023, Us Weekly confirmed that Cruise had been quietly dating Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova. The relationship had reportedly been going on “for a while” before they made their public debut at a party in London.
At the time, an insider shared with the magazine, “They’re very happy. And Tom’s extremely confident about it working out for the long term.” The couple apparently met through mutual friends in England, with the source explaining, “What started as a basic friendship quickly turned into something more special.”
As of 2024, however, it seems the relationship had run its course. “They weren’t gelling and realized they weren’t romantically compatible,” a source later told Us Weekly. According to the insider, Khayrova was the one to call things off. “There’s no bad blood between them,” the source added. “They just had different ideas of what their relationship was going to be.”
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