How Penélope Cruz Broke Tom Cruise’s Heart | Rumour Juice
Two decades ago, Tom Cruise was in the process
of divorcing his second wife, Nicole Kidman. Many forget that he instantly found love in
the arms of Penélope Cruz. Their whirlwind romance was more than just a rebound, though. Tom was planning to propose when Penelope
broke things off and left him devastated. Like so many Hollywood couples before them,
Penélope Cruz and Tom Cruise first met on the set of an erotic science-fiction thriller
Vanilla Sky. Tom portrayed a charming millionaire who fell
in love with Penelope’s character, Sofia. Though Cruise was married to Nicole Kidman
when the shooting began (and not when it ended), he and Cruz have long maintained that their
relationship started after the film wrapped.
Tom and Nicole tied the knot a decade before
that. While the couple were married, they adopted
two kids and starred together in two movies. “We had some great times. And that’s what I think about,” he told
Marie Claire. “Whatever happened, happened, OK? You move on.” They filed for divorce in February 2001, citing
“irreconcilable differences”. Who can forget “Nicole Kidman after finalizing
divorce” pics? In July 2001, about six months after Cruise
filed the papers, after all the whispers, rumors, and denials, he and Cruz made it official. Confirmation came, as it so often does in
Hollywood, via the actor’s spokeswoman. “Tom Cruise invited Penélope Cruz to his
39th birthday party on July 6, and they’ve had a few dates since,” Cruise’s long-time
publicist Pat Kingsley told reporters at the time. Ironically, Penelope and Tom made their public
debut as a couple the same month the divorce was finalized.
Penélope Cruz has been acting for years,
but she’s never been the center of the American spotlight until the week she showed up at
her new film’s premiere with the oh-so recently divorced Tom Cruise. Surely, few Hollywood watchers were discussing
the film. It was the first public event for Cruz and
her new boyfriend, whose headline-making divorce from Kidman was barely a week old. Following the premiere, she gushed to Good
Morning America about what it meant to have Cruise attend the premiere with her. “He came and shared it with me,” Cruz
said. “It was special for me that he wanted to
share it with me that way.” And though she said that Cruise “has a huge
heart,” she didn’t elaborate on their romance at the time.
Since Cruz and Cruise started making public
appearances so fast after the divorce, many speculated that they had already been seeing
each other before. However, Penelope claimed that the romance
didn’t start at the set of Vanilla Sky but rather later. “I’ve never fallen in love with someone
I’m working with,” she said back in 2008. “It’s always been afterward. If something becomes friendship, then maybe
months later it becomes something else, but you can never know. It’s always a mystery. You can’t plan those things.” So, we guess we’ll just have to take her
word for it. Though they were fairly private, Cruise and
Cruz was always incredibly sweet when they did open up about their relationship in the
press. For example, during a press conference for
Vanilla Sky, praised Cruise for his “generosity,” adding, “He cares about everyone that is
around him.” Tom loved to pamper Penelope. He boasted that she liked his home-cooked
meals, and so he cooked for her often.
Sometimes, he’d welcome her home with a
bath hot and ready for her. “She likes my food, so I cook for her. It’s always the little things I like in
a relationship.” Early signs of Cruise’s couch-jumping tendencies
were all over this romance. We had the Top Gun star manically “blurting
out fragments of romantic thoughts” to Vanity Fair, like “I thought, My God, I’m your
boyfriend. You’re my girlfriend!” and laughing over
their homophonic last names: “Cruise and Cruz!” The actor was so smitten with Penelope that
he was seriously considering proposing to her.
If she were to accept his proposal, she’d
become his third wife. Cruise had a history of jumping into new marriages
soon. He proposed to Kidman only ten months after
his divorce from Mimi Rogers was finalized. The couple was understandably coy with the
media, considering the many false reports that followed their relationship. In 2003, Cruz sued Australian magazine New
Idea after they ran an article insinuating that she’d had an affair with a Spanish
actor. It looked like the couple shared even more
than people thought at the time. Tom, known for guarding his reputation with
his life, won a $10 million judgment earlier that year against former gay porn star Chad
Slater, who claimed he and the actor had been lovers. Before that, he and ex-wife Nicole Kidman
won a suit against a British tabloid that claimed their marriage was a sham to cover
up his alleged homosexuality. Penelope was vindicated in court months later,
awarded a $3,200 settlement paid to the charity of her choosing. While they undoubtedly enjoyed a lovely honeymoon
phase, they weren’t meant to last. Between listening to late-night calls to his
ex-wife and the role of religion in his life, Cruz reportedly decided that this relationship
was not meant to be.
After almost three years together, Cruz and
Cruise’s romance came to an end. Cruise’s publicist assured reporters that
the split was “amicable,” while Cruz’s rep said, “They remain good friends and
still talk often,” noting, “There is no other person involved.” Speculation that the couple was on the rocks
first ignited when Cruz didn’t show up at the Golden Globes ceremony, where Cruise was
nominated for The Last Samurai. She had flown to Spain to be with
her father who had fallen ill. “At the time, they were figuring out their
relationship,” said the source. Soon after, however, Cruise and Cruz quietly
separated. According to Standard, Penelope struggled
in their relationship because she couldn’t fit into his family and get his children to
accept her.
Additionally, she grew frustrated that Tom
Cruise was still regularly talking to Kidman and said he would always love her. That’s what supposedly went on behind closed
doors. The official version of their growing trouble
in paradise blamed the fact that they were shooting movies in different parts of the
world most of the time. Consequently, it was growing harder and harder
for the two to spend quality time together. “The relationship just ran its course, and
they decided not to be girlfriend and boyfriend anymore,” a source told People at the time. While the insider pointed toward distance
as a factor that contributed to Cruz and Cruise’s breakup, another factor could have been their
religious opinions. A source told Radar Online that Tom had been
“head over heels in love” with Penelope and had planned on proposing, but she wasn’t
interested in tying the knot for one major reason.
“Penelope doesn’t have anything against
the Church, but it just wasn’t her thing. She admired Tom’s dedication to it, but
it wasn’t her cup of tea and wasn’t something she wanted to give her life up for.” While many celebrities decided to leave the
Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise remains a passionate follower. That being said, at the time of their split,
Cruz’s spokesman said that Cruise’s involvement with the Church of Scientology didn’t play
a part in the breakup, even noting that his client had “taken church courses, and she’s
found them beneficial”. Reportedly, The Church of Scientology screened
at least two dozen women to date Tom Cruise after his divorce from Nicole Kidman. In 2006, Cruz defended Scientology and Cruise
in an interview with The Guardian. “I would feel bad about myself if I didn’t
say that I was grateful to Scientology because of what I’ve learned about it,” she explained. “Tom is a very good man, and I am close
to his whole family. The people who have been good to me, they
are untouchable, I am very loyal to the people who have meant something to me.” Nevertheless, Cruise wasn’t lonely for long
after she broke up with him in 2004.
By the time 2005 rolled by, he was already
seeing Katie Holmes. The two got married and welcomed their daughter
Suri in 2006. They divorced six years later with a bang. Cruz settled down a decade ago, tying the
knot with fellow Spanish actor Javier Bardem. They welcomed their son Leo in 2011 and a daughter
Luna in 2013. It’s been 17 years since Tom and Penelope
went their separate ways. There seems to be no animosity between the
pair. They reportedly had an awkward moment bumping
into each other at a party in 2009. “Penelope tapped him on the shoulder and
timidly asked, ‘Tom?’ Tom turned around, got visibly flustered, and
awkwardly said, ‘Oh, hey. Hi,’ and gave her a small, distant hug before
turning back around to his friends.” Six years later, they were spotted dining
together in London, accompanied by Salma Hayek.
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ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴏʏ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ™ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ – ᴄᴜʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟʟʏ $37.⁰⁰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴏʏ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ™ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴘʟᴀɴ ̶$̶7̶4̶ $37.⁰⁰ ᴄʙᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏᴏʟꜱ ̶$̶6̶7̶ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ɢᴏᴀʟ ꜱᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱʜᴏᴘ ̶$̶2̶9̶ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ-ꜰʀᴇᴇ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴛᴇʀʀᴀɴᴇᴀɴ ᴅɪᴇᴛ ̶$̶3̶7̶ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ʟɪꜰᴇᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ ̶$̶1̶4̶7̶ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ɪɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ. ɪᴛ’ꜱ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ʟᴇᴛ’ꜱ ɢᴇᴛ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ➫ “ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴍʏ ʟɪꜰᴇ, ɪᴛ ꜱᴀᴠᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟɪꜰᴇ.” “ᵈᵉᵖʳᵉˢˢᶦᵒⁿ ʰᵃᵈ ˢᵘᶜʰ ᵃ ˢᵗʳᵃⁿᵍˡᵉʰᵒˡᵈ ᵒᵛᵉʳ ᵐʸ ᵐᶦⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦ ʷᵃˢ ᵈʳᶦᵛᵉⁿ ᵗᵒ ᵃᵗᵗᵉᵐᵖᵗ ˢᵘᶦᶜᶦᵈᵉ ᶠᵒᵘʳ ᵗᶦᵐᵉˢ. ᵈᵉˢᵗʳᵒʸ ᵈᵉᵖʳᵉˢˢᶦᵒⁿ ʰᵉˡᵖᵉᵈ ᵐᵉ ᵍᵉᵗ ᵇᵉʸᵒⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈᵉᵖʳᵉˢˢᶦᵒⁿ ˢʸᵐᵖᵗᵒᵐˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʷᵉʳᵉ ʰᵒˡᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵐᵉ ʰᵒˢᵗᵃᵍᵉ. ᵗᵒᵈᵃʸ, ᶦ’ᵐ ᵗᵉᵃᶜʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵒⁿˡᶦⁿᵉ ʸᵒᵍᵃ ᶜˡᵃˢˢᵉˢ, ᵇᵘᶦˡᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵃ ᵍᵃʳᵈᵉⁿ ᶦⁿ ᵐʸ ᵇᵃᶜᵏʸᵃʳᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵖᵉⁿᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵃᵏᵉ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵐʸ ᵈᵒᵍ, ᵉᵈᵈᶦᵉ. ʰᵃᵛᶦⁿᵍ ᵐʸ ᵈᵉᵖʳᵉˢˢᶦᵒⁿ ˢʸᵐᵖᵗᵒᵐˢ ᵉᵛᵃᵖᵒʳᵃᵗᵉ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᵃ ˡᶦᶠᵉᵗᶦᵐᵉ ᵒᶠ ˢᵗʳᵘᵍᵍˡᵉ ʰᵃˢ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃᵐᵃᶻᶦⁿᵍ.” ᴇʟᴇɴ ʀ. ᴍɪᴄʜɪɢᴀɴ, ᴜꜱᴀ
