Pulling out all the stops to reportedly woo Ana De Armas, Tom Cruise has been dropping what appears to be a series of love bombs on the actress, including two private jet rides, a ‘romantic’ Valentine’s Day meal and a private dining experience in one of London’s top Michelin-starred restaurants. 

But while their relationship is believed to be fast-heating up, one person who is less-than-impressed by Tom’s Top Guns is Ana’s ex, Ben Affleck, who is said to be feeling regretful over their split. So much so, that he reportedly feels that Ana could have been the one to save him from the ‘J.Lo bullet’. 

Now an insider tells us,  ‘He truly believes she was the one that got away, Ben fell very hard for Ana when they dated, he was openly talking about proposing and building a long-term future together. 

‘Ben didn’t believe it was anything more than a friendship at first, but now he’s in no doubt that Ana’s under Tom’s spell and it’s really bummed him out. 

‘There’s no big rivalry or hostility between them, but like a lot of people in Hollywood Ben does think of Tom as a bit of an oddball. He doesn’t think he’s worthy of someone as magical as Ana.’ 

Ben, 52, and Ana, 37, first met when filming erotic thriller Deep Water together in 2019 and, just months into their new romance, Ana invited Ben, who speaks fluent Spanish, to spend time in her native Cuba together. 

But their romance really was thrown into the deep end when following their first trip together, the 2020 lockdown in the US was enforced. 

But rather than split, Ben invited Ana to quarantine with him in his Beverly Hills home and, going Instagram official on her 32nd birthday in April, sources said at the time, ‘Ben looks incredibly happy. They are flirty and goofy. Ana always has a huge smile around him.’

And with the proof in the pap shots, Ben appeared, for perhaps the first time since his divorce from wife-of-13-years Jennifer Garner in 2018, very happy, uncharacteristically smiling from ear-to-ear while they walked their dogs together. 

Ana was also seen holding hands with Ben’s children – Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Sam, 13 – whom he shares with Jennifer, and the couple were pictured on a double date with Ben’s BFF Matt Damon and his wife. 

And the source says their romance was something new for Ben, who connected with Ana from the get-go. 

They say, ‘The relationship only lasted for around a year but they accomplished a lot during that time, so it felt like way longer. They quarantined together during lockdown, went on numerous exotic trips and shared a chemistry that Ben says was unlike anything he’s ever experienced elsewhere. No other romance after his divorce from Jennifer Garner came even close to replicating that magic he felt they shared. 

‘But it was so much more than just a physical attraction, he was also wowed by her intellect and acting talent, which of course he got to see up close when they filmed Deep Water together.’ 

However, while smooth-talking Tom, 62, is thought to be known in Hollywood circles for his ability to charm women and sweep them off their feet, Ben meanwhile, hasn’t always been so mature. 

Following almost two years of dating, sources confirmed the couple had ended their relationship, saying at the time, ‘She broke it off. Their relationship was complicated. Ana doesn’t want to be Los Angeles-based, and Ben obviously has to since his kids live in Los Angeles.’ 

And while Ben is said to have wanted to remain as close to his children as possible in LA, other sources also claimed that another point of contention had been Ana’s desire to get married, something Ben felt unready for just yet.

Ben, meanwhile, very publicly confirmed the end of their romance by throwing a larger-than-life cardboard cut-out of Ana into the rubbish bins in full view of the paparazzi. 

And while there were reports that a reunion could be on the cards when Ana wore her side of the half-heart necklace that she shared with Ben, she later wrote, ‘Nope’, ‘No’, ‘I don’t think so’ on her Instagram Stories – words fans took as red that they were certainly not getting back together.

But now our source says that Ben, whose divorce from Jennifer Lopez was made official in February, regrets not pulling out all of the stops for Ana – especially now he sees that Tom is doing exactly that. 

They say, ‘He was in a bad place in his life when they dated, he made some bad choices and still bitterly regrets not showing her the very best version of himself. He’s done a lot of work on himself since, calmed way down and feels certain that if they were starting out again today, it would have a long term success.

‘But instead he’s sitting back and watching her fall in love with Tom Cruise, a guy he’s never really gelled with or had a lot of time for.’ 

And while we recently reported that Ben is ‘interested’ in meeting Hollywood’s hot new star, Sydney Sweeney, and is looking to move on from J.Lo with a younger woman, the source says Ben is still full of regret that he can’t give his romance with Ana another shot. 

The source says, ‘After he and J.Lo divorced he really hoped they’d find a way to reconnect but now that’s obviously off the table as she’s all hooked up with Tom. In some ways Ben gets it, since Tom’s a hugely successful and charming guy but he still privately feels Ana is making a mistake. 

‘That being said, he accepts it’s none of his business anymore so there’s nothing he can say or do to change the situation.’

They add, ‘It’s a classic case of right girl, wrong time, especially as Ben is now quietly admitting he’s open to having more kids and that he’d love to meet someone around Ana’s age and with her success level. But it is what it is, he’s just got to suck it up and move on.’