Eternal bachelor Tom Cruise is pulling the vain move of telling friends Ana de Armas “wasn’t up to his standards” after their sudden breakup – a claim insiders tell RadarOnline.com masks the heartbreak of a man struggling to control a romance that slipped through his grasp.
The Mission: Impossible star, 63, split from Knives Out actress de Armas, 37, after an eight-month relationship that began with an intense courtship and ended in mutual exhaustion.
The Breakup Revealed
Tom Cruise ends his romance with Ana de Armas.
He and the actress, first photographed together on Valentine’s Day and later seen on a romantic summer getaway in Vermont, had appeared inseparable, with insiders saying even his Scientology overlords had “approved” as a “perfect future wife.”
But sources close to the actor tell us the breakup has sent Cruise “spiraling,” even as he insists he was the one to end things.
A source said: “Tom’s spinning things to make it sound like he ended it – saying Ana didn’t live up to what he wanted. But people close to him know that’s just ego. It’s also juvenile. Really, he’s hurting. She was the one who stepped back, and it’s shaken him badly.”
Carefully Curated Romance
Cruise told friends Ana “wasn’t up to his standards.”
The relationship had been carefully “curated” within Cruise’s circle. Friends say he had seen de Armas as the “perfect partner” – intelligent, elegant, and admired by the Church of Scientology.
“He truly believed Ana was his perfect match,” said another source close to the actor. “He spoke about her like she was meant for him. Now he’s changing the story to protect his pride.”
Cruise’s fascination with structure and control, long reported as a hallmark of his personal and professional life, is said to have contributed to the relationship’s unraveling. “Tom tried to control every detail of Ana’s life, image, brand and career,” said one insider.
“He’d weigh in on her workouts, her meals, even how she spoke in interviews. At first Ana saw it as him being attentive, but over time it just felt stifling.”
Clash of Independence and Control
Friends said Cruise alternates between anger and despair.
Another source described the breakup as “a collision between her freedom and his relentless discipline.” They added: “Ana’s very independent. She wanted a genuine relationship, not something that felt like an arrangement. Eventually, she began ignoring his calls for days, and that’s when everything started to unravel.”
Those close to Cruise also say he has been alternating between anger and despair since the split. “He’s going around saying he was the one who ended things, but it’s clear he’s in pain,” said a longtime friend.
“One day he insists it’s her loss, the next he’s wondering if he’ll ever meet someone who really gets him. He’s uneasy, isolated, and overthinking everything.”
Love, Law and Life Plans
As RadarOnline.com has reported, Cruise had taken serious steps to formalize the relationship, even consulting legal advisers about a prenuptial agreement. He is also said to have considered starting a family with de Armas – something he has not spoken about publicly since his divorce from Katie Holmes in 2012.
A Hollywood insider said: “Tom never goes into a relationship lightly. He plans everything – almost like the missions in his action movies. When this collapsed, it completely threw him off his game.”
The Church of Scientology has long been rumored to influence Cruise’s romantic life, though there is no indication de Armas was ever involved in the organization. Sources say senior officials have “auditioned” women for Cruise. “Tom’s accustomed to having total order in his life,” said an insider. “When someone disrupts that structure, it sends everything into turmoil.”
Friends now describe the actor as throwing himself into planning yet another Mission: Impossible film and the third instalment in the Top Gun franchise, using his trademark discipline to cope with being alone again. “He’s turning the pain into discipline,” said a close associate. “He’s throwing himself into work more than ever – that’s typical Tom. He doesn’t know how to sit with heartbreak, so he buries it in effort.”
Still, beneath the bravado, those who know him best say Cruise is struggling. “He keeps insisting he’s okay, but he’s really crushed,” one confidante said. “He thought this was going to be his happy ending, the ideal relationship. Now he’s back at square one, questioning why he can be a hero in movies but can’t make love work off-screen.”
