Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas have been raising some major eyebrows with their recent joint outings.
“It’s low-key, still new and in the early stages,” a source confirmed to Us Weekly exclusively. “Their romance is definitely on the down low.”
The insider shared that de Armas, 37, and Cruise, 62, met through Hollywood circles over the years—with the Blonde star getting a thumbs up behind the scenes from mutual friend Penelope Cruz, who “raved” about the Cuban-born beauty.
“Penelope put in a good word for her both personally and professionally,” said the source.
Cruz and Cruise previously dated for three years after they starred together in Vanilla Sky in 2001. The relationship ended in January 2004, but the two have remained friends, per the source. Cruz and de Armas starred in 2019’s Wasp Network.
According to the insider, de Armas originally met with Cruise to discuss work-related matters in February before the “relationship developed.”
Cruise was “super smitten” with de Armas and it “developed into feelings.”
“They’ve gone out on some dates and it’s very low-key,” the source continue. “It’s in the early stages and he’s been courting her.”
Cruise is “really into her,” the insider added, noting that the feeling is mutual. However, de Armas is being “more cautious.”
“She isn’t looking for anything to move too fast, she’s taking it really slow,” the source shared, adding that the actress’ relationship with Manuel Anido Cuesta, the stepson of Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, had come to an end.
(The two were spotted holding hands and sharing a kiss in Madrid late last year, but de Armas never publicly confirmed the status of her relationship with Cuesta.)
“It’s very private,” the insider explained of de Armas and the Mission Impossible superstar, noting that “they are protecting themselves from the intense media scrutiny.”
De Armas isn’t a huge fan of “public attention” when it comes to romantic relationships, which is one of the reasons “she’s unsure” about going the distance with Cruise.
“She doesn’t like the public attention,” With [ex-boyfriend] Ben Affleck, that’s one of the things she didn’t like,” the insider told Us, adding that her preference for privacy is “one of the things Tom likes about her.”
The duo were first spotted out together in February during an outing in the Soho area of London, according to photos obtained by the Daily Mail at the time. The following month, de Armas and Cruise started to spark romance rumors when they were seen together again.
The second time, People shared photos of the actors arriving via helicopter at the London Heliport on March 15. Cruise and de Armas kept it casual and appeared in high spirits during the outing.
It was widely reported late last month that de Armas and Cruise were still hanging out — even for her 37th birthday on April 30 when they were photographed on a walk in a London park. Video obtained by TMZ around the time also showed the pair exiting a helicopter in London once again, but this time Cruise was the pilot.
Aside from Cruise and Cuesta, the Knives Out actress has been romantically linked to Affleck, whom she dated from 2020 to early 2021 and Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis. De Armas was previously married to Spanish actor Marc Clotet from 2011 to 2013.
Cruise, meanwhile, was previously married to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001, with whom he shares kids Isabella, 32, and Connor, 30, and to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012, with whom he shares daughter Suri, 18.