For all his successes in life, there’s one area where it seems Tom Cruise has fallen short, and that’s when it comes to maintaining a meaningful relationship with his youngest daughter, Suri. 

The actor has financially supported her for years, ever since splitting from her mother, Katie Holmes in 2012, and – despite Suri turning 18 this year and leaving her home in New York to study at the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh – he’s continued to fund her college fees. But as for any emotional interaction between the pair, it’s supposedly been over a decade since they’ve been in touch, and Suri’s recent decision to drop her father’s surname publicly may give some hint to the schism that’s grown between them. Starring in a theatre production before leaving high school earlier this year, the budding performer was listed in the show’s programme as “Suri Noelle” – ditching “Cruise” in favour of her mum’s middle name. 

The actor infamously sued a US magazine in 2013, after it reported he’d “abandoned” his daughter, and argued instead that he was unable to see her due to his busy schedule. But there’s no denying that his evangelism and commitment to the Church of Scientology seem to have played a massive role in the breakdown of their relationship – as it did to the demise of his and Katie’s marriage. Having been Hollywood’s golden couple, the pair split unexpectedly, after it was revealed that Katie didn’t feel comfortable raising Suri under the tenets of Scientology, and duly followed in the footsteps of Tom’s former wife, Nicole Kidman, by leaving and being labelled an enemy to the Church, or a “suppressive person”. Under such conditions, it was highly unlikely that Tom and Suri would ever be able to stay in touch.

Still, time heals wounds, and insiders say Tom has always held out hope that, one day, they’ll reconnect – and now might just be the time. This is partly owed to Tom’s more relaxed attitude to the church and the fact that, having spent the past five years living in London while filming the Mission: Impossible sequels, he is finally resettling on US soil. But more important is the work that his older children have been doing behind the scenes to reconnect with their half-siblings. 

As we’ve previously reported, Tom’s daughter and son – Bella, 31, and Connor, 29, whom he adopted with Nicole during their 10-year marriage – have been quietly reaching out to Nicole’s younger daughters from her marriage to singer Keith Urban, Sunday, 16, and Faith, 15. Nothing has been said publicly, but, in October, Bella liked Sunday’s Instagram post, which marked her big modelling debut at Paris Fashion Week as. This followed earlier reports that Bella, who’s said to have had a fractured relationship with Nicole ever since Tom was granted custody of her and Connor, has been making quiet attempts to reconnect with her mother’s side of the family, and looping Connor in on their communication. We’re told that Bella, who lives in London with her husband, Max Parker, and works as an artist, is an “incredibly diplomatic young woman” who recognises the important of family and repairing wounds. So, now that she’s mending fences with her mother, Tom’s apparently hoping she’ll soon turn her attention to her other half-sister, Suri – and hopefully help him repair his own familial wounds in the process. 

“No one was really sure how Tom would feel about Bella reaching out to Nicole’s girls, but he’s thrilled,” says an insider close to the 62 year old, who’s still close to his older two children (especially Connor, who – as a devout Scientologist – reportedly idolises his father). “Privately, he’s confided that he’s hopeful this will help pave the way for him to reconnect with Suri. He wants all his kids to be close and to have a relationship with each of them. He would be very pleased if Bella were to reach out and get the ball rolling in the same was she has with Sunday. He’s always bragged about what an incredibly diplomatic young woman she is, and – in his view – this just proves it. All those people who say that he’s given up on Suri are completely wrong – he’s just chosen not to pressure her. Now that she’s an adult, he’s hoping that there will be some positive movement in their relationship.”

It’s fair to say that – despite Suri’s moves to distance herself from Tom’s name – now would be a better time to reconnect than ever before. In the past, while Katie has claimed she was silenced from speaking out, she was fiercely protective of her daughter, and duly kept her apart from her father to prevent the Church of Scientology from having any input into Suri’s upbringing. Tom’s said to have respected her wishes and kept his distance. But now that Suri’s older and more independent, we’re told that Katie’s no longer so nervous about her being susceptible to outside influences. She and Suri are incredibly close and, with sources suggesting that Katie is cautiously supportive of any choices her daughter makes moving forwards with her father’s side of the family, it’s looking likely that some contact could be made – especially since Tom has proven in recent years that he’s far less dogmatic when it comes to Scientology. 

“The old days of him being considered controlling are over – he’s at a point in his life where’s a lot more relaxed,” we’re told. “He’s mellowed out so much. So, when it comes to his kids, he’s not pushing anything. He’s going to let it unfold organically, but he certainly is putting a whole lot of hope in Bella.”

It was back in 2006, when Suri was born, that Tom told the world just how much he loved and valued his most important role in life. 

“My whole life, I always wanted to be a father,” he told Vanity Fair. “I always said to myself that my children would be able to depend on me and I would always be there for them and love them – that I’d never make a promise to my kids that I couldn’t keep. I’m not one of those people who believe you can spoil a kid with too much love. You can never give a child too much love. There’s just no way.”

Here’s hoping he can deliver on promises he made years before, and find some success in that one area of life where he’s seemingly fallen short.