An A-list couple we didn’t expect, but make total sense? Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas. Rumours have been swirling about the Mission Impossible star, 62, and the Bond girl, 37, after they were spotted together having dinner in London around Valentine’s Day. But earlier this month, the rumour mill went into overdrive, as they attended David Beckham’s glitzy 50th birthday party together – with the pair later spotted on a walk together on Ana’s 37th birthday. They’ve reportedly been on holiday to Madrid, too.

According to a source, the pairing must be the real deal, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken Ana to the footballer’s bash at three Michelin-star restaurant Core in London. ‘Tom has known David for 25 years. There is no way he would bring someone to David’s 50th unless it was serious,’ the source told The Mail on Sunday. ‘Tom’s not that kind of guy. People at the party were talking about how it must be serious if Tom invited Ana to join him at such an intimate event. Everyone else was there with their wives and husbands.’

But the most shocking news of all? Apparently Tom spent an eye-watering £8,662 on Ana. No, not on a gift – but on transporting her to Heathrow airport, for her return to New York City, in his private £1million helicopter. According to The Sun, the actor paid £4,850 to charter the helicopter to Heathrow, and then another £3,812 making sure Ana could check in to the airport’s VIP Windsor Suite. ‘Tom wants Ana to know she can have the best of the best and doesn’t think twice about the bill,’ a source told the paper. ‘He’s a total gent and just wants to do right by Ana. If that means splashing the cash then so be it.’

However, there have been some alternate, perhaps less exciting, theories about their pairing. A source told Page Six they think Tom could be stepping in to a mentor role. This month, both will star in high-octane action films; Tom in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and Ana in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, where she plays an assassin ballerina. ‘I’m sure she’s called him for advice,’ the source added. ‘I’m sure they conversed on [things like] “this is how the stunt guys do it.” I’m sure he gives her a lot of tips — he’s a legend in the stunt world.’

Ana has also given Tom a shoutout in interviews before, and in 2023, she told USA Today she had admiration for his work. ‘I can appreciate what he does 100% now, and I totally get why he does it,’ the actress said. ‘He’s so mind blowing.’

There’s also been other reports that Tom wants to cast Ana as a lead in an upcoming project (though details about this are pretty thin on the ground). ‘He is developing a new film and he has approached Ana to be his leading lady,’ a source told The Sun. ‘Ana is one of the best actresses in the business as far as Tom is concerned and he wants her by his side in the new movie.’

For De Armas, her last headline-hitting Hollywood romance was with Ben Affleck, after the pair worked together on Deep Water. They started dating in March 2020, but split less than a year later, with sources saying they broke up as Ben wouldn’t marry Ana. But there have been reports Ben regrets the breakup, as he later went to re-marry, and divorce, Jennifer Lopez. ‘Ben and Ana had such a special and unique relationship because they were holed up together 24/7 during the pandemic,’ an insider told the Daily Mail. ‘They got so close so fast, and it was passionate and real.’ The source adds that there’s no hard feelings, though – and that Affleck hopes ‘she finds what she wants and has a family’.

Cruise’s most recent relationship was with Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova in 2023, but the pair split a few months later, with a source telling Page Six ‘their relationship simply ran its course’.

He’s been married three times, to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes. And Tom recently gave a rare comment in an interview about his ex-wife of ten years Kidman, who he worked with on Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut – telling Sight and Sound magazine that he told the director to cast Kidman as Alice as ‘obviously she’s a great actress’.

And, according to Page Six, all these years later it’s tricky for Tom to date due to his status. ‘It’s very hard to be in Tom Cruise’s world,’ a source adds, ‘it’s interesting that typically the actress is just on the rise or has some sort of notoriety.’ We’ll see if further reports emerge on Tom and Ana’s unexpected pairing…