As a Hollywood A-lister with a jam-packed schedule, Tom Cruise appears to have it all. But sources close to the actor have revealed that he’s secretly living a very lonely life.

“Tom lives for the business of being a global movie star – and it’s not exactly work for him because he goes at it like a 24/7 lifestyle choice. He literally has no friends who can keep pace with him, and that’s all been exacerbated this summer as he finally puts Mission 8 to bed and can move onto other projects. He only socialises with the moguls and other A-listers to further his movie ambitions, and it’s pretty clear when you spend any stretch of time with him that he’s a lonely guy and would rather be off shooting a mega stunt than pretending he likes his downtime,” an insider tells Closer.

“He never even takes vacations without pasting on some kind of work function to it, like a location scout or just a box full of scripts to read and movies to watch. You want to tell the guy, ‘Get a life!’ but with a person as strong willed as Tom, that would never work. He will slow down and act normal only as a last resort and only when he’s a very old man. He loves his lifestyle but he’s becoming a one-man-band at this point and he keeps saying that he lives for the grind of working — as long as he can be in charge.”

Tom, 62, has had a busy calendar over the past few months. He’s attended various social events, including a Taylor Swift concert, Glastonbury and Wimbledon. He’s also mingled with a host of stars, making a surprise appearance at the European premiere of Twisters, reuniting with Prince William at a London Air Ambulance charity event and celebrating Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday.

He’s thrown himself into lots of work, too. He made a dramatic appearance at the Olympics 2024 closing ceremony in Paris, where he jumped from the roof of the Stade de France. To mark the handover to Los Angeles, where the 2028 games will be taking place, Tom was seen sliding 115-feet down a rope before landing on the ground and hopping on a motorbike out of the stadium.

Last month, he was pictured performing yet another daredevil stunt while filming scenes for Mission Impossible. Tom, who will return to screens as agent Ethan Hunt next year in the eighth instalment of the movie, was seen hanging off the side of a plane as it flew over Oxfordshire. 

And our source says that while he’s good at keeping himself busy and surrounding himself with people, he finds it hard to grow close to others.

“Tom has always had a reputation for being a competitive control freak and people assume that’s why he doesn’t have close friends, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. A big part of his issue is that over the years he’s been hurt by people and as a result he’s got a huge shield up. He can be very social and go all out to impress, but as far as actually letting anyone get close to him, that just doesn’t ever seem to happen, at least not for many, many years. He doesn’t trust people, so his way of coping is to put up this emotional wall,” the insider continues.

‘In many ways, staying constantly busy with work is a coping mechanism for him because he never has to face his emotions. By keeping his schedule jam packed and always keeping his nose to the grindstone he can ignore the fact that the other areas of his life are pretty empty. When he’s on a project he automatically has a large circle of people around, but of course, it’s temporary, and there’s always a layer of distance built in because everyone’s still aware that Tom is their boss. When you see Tom in a social setting it’s like he’s always on, it’s a constant performance. He’ll befriend people and work really hard to wow them and show off, but as far as inviting them over to spend time with him in private, without a big crowd of people around, it just doesn’t happen.”

 When it comes to his personal relationships, Tom hasn’t been romantically linked to anyone in a major way since his split from Katie Holmes in 2012. It’s widely rumoured that actress Katie, 45, filed for divorce due to concerns over Tom’s devotion to Scientology, and it’s thought that neither she nor their 18-year-old daughter Suri have any contact with him.

While Tom – who is also dad to children Bella, 31, and Connor, 29, who he adopted with ex-wife Nicole Kidman – previously hit back at suggestions he “abandoned” Suri, they have not been seen publicly together for a decade. She also recently dropped his surname and now goes by Suri Noelle – her mum’s middle name.

Closer previously reported that she had taken steps to publicly disassociate herself from her famous dad, with a source revealing at the time it’s a “very sensitive subject” for him. “He’s been biding his time for the wounds to heal and for his chance to nurture that relationship again, which is what he had intended to do when she turned 18. The truth is he’s never given up on building a relationship with his daughter,” they said.

Our source adds of Tom’s social life, “It’s quite sad because in a lot of ways. he’s his own worst enemy when it comes to connecting with people. It’s very hard for him to just be present and relax, he seems to always feel like he’s got to be doing something. No doubt his extreme drive to succeed is the reason he’s gotten where he is today, but it also doesn’t make for a very well-balanced life. It’s not something Tom would ever admit but there’s no doubt he’s a pretty lonely guy that could benefit from some real, genuine friendships in his life.”