Where Tom Cruise & Hayley Atwell Stand After Their Rumored Fling
Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell sparked romance rumors while filming "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," the same project where their characters, Ethan Hunt and Grace, conveniently shared scorching hot chemistry. According to The U.S. Sun, however, Cruise and Atwell made great use of their chemistry long after filming, reportedly dating twice between 2020 and 2022. "They get on really well, and have fantastic chemistry, which is why they decided to quietly give the relationship another try earlier this year," a source shared that June. The actors also reportedly worked much better behind the scenes than in the public spotlight, so they crumbled underneath the fanfare.
The Sun's source expressed similar sentiments a year earlier. "It has been a very intense period of filming together," shared the insider in September 2021. "They really got on well ... but as the latest film winds down they've decided to go back to being friends." They continued, "Their filming schedules are very full-on, and Tom has a number of other commitments coming up and is always shooting around by private helicopter and jet so it just ran its course." However, the source revealed they're still happy to work together and continue to get along well. Given that Cruise and Atwell started filming Part 2 of "Dead Reckoning" in April 2022, let's hope they're still as chummy as people have said!
Hayley Atwell actually shut down Tom Cruise romance rumors
First things first: Hayley Atwell already crushed the dreams of shippers everywhere who had hoped she encompassed the latest chapter of Tom Cruise's dating history (despite his long list of failed romances and controversies). After all, Cruise even gave Atwell's grandmother the five-star treatment by treating her to a one-on-one helicopter ride around London, according to ET. "The first thing that comes to mind for me is that he took my grandmother in a helicopter on Christmas Eve and gave her a tour of London," Atwell revealed in June 2023. "We surprised her and Tom came walking around the car. It was so sweet, because my grandmother was like, 'Hiya, Tom, how are you darling?!' and talked to him like he was one of her own," she added.
And while that gesture totally sounded like a marriage proposal, Atwell — who was already engaged to Ned Wolfgang Kelly by then — shut down romance rumors the next month. "I would be like, 'Ooh, there's some weird rumours, and it feels base, it feels a little dirty, it feels grubby, it's not what I'm about,'" Atwell shared during an interview with The Independent. "Why are things being assumed or projected onto me about my relationship with my work colleague and boss?" As for why Atwell wasn't happy, well, it was because "it's involving people in my actual life, my personal life, who have to be on the receiving end of that. It becomes invasive," she continued.
Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell still seem close
Whether Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell actually dated, or this is just another example of shippers' imaginations running wild, it appears that they really are on friendly terms. According to the Daily Mail, Cruise and Atwell were photographed taking a break from filming the next installment of "Mission Impossible." The friendly co-stars spent their free time grabbing a bite at the Lovage Restaurant in Bakewell, England. However, this meetup was not romantic, as their "Mission Impossible" co-star, Simon Pegg, accompanied them during the outing. And while neither Hayley nor Cruise documented their friendly dinner on social media, the restaurant was happy to do the heavy lifting on their Instagram account.
Of course, there's also the fact that, while Cruise's secretive love life may currently be under lock and key, Atwell is in a very public relationship with her writer fiancé, Ned Wolfgang Kelly. In case you missed it, Kelly announced their engagement in April 2023 with an adorable couple photo and an equally endearing account of the sweet moment. "Around midday the love of my life and I got engaged in the kitchen of this strange apartment full of porcelain ducks, with a bloke outside the window murdering 'My Way' on the accordion," said Kelly on Instagram. "A perfect start to the rest of our lives together. I'd never had any interest in getting married... until I met this extraordinary woman. Happy as a clam."