Hayley Atwell, 41, finally addressed the rumors that she’s dating Tom Cruise, 61. After the two actors were romantically linked when they were filming Mission: Impossible 7 in 2020, Hayley set the record straight about their relationship in a July 8 interview with The Independent. Hayley confirmed they aren’t dating and said that she looks at Tom as an “uncle”. “I would be like, ‘Ooh, there’s some weird rumors, and it feels base, it feels a little dirty, it feels grubby, it’s not what I’m about,'” she said in the interview. “Why are things being assumed or projected onto me about my relationship with my work colleague and boss?”
Hayley said that the rumors about her and Tom were “upsetting” to her 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.” The Captain America: The First Avenger star also revealed that she got advice from Tom on how to handle the speculation about their connection. “When I’ve talked to him about it, he’d be like, ‘You know exactly who you are. You know what you’re about. And that is the only thing that matters. It doesn’t matter what people think of you, if you are in integrity with yourself, if you know what your value system is,’ ” she said.
Ahead of their movie’s July 12 theatrical release, Hayley praised Tom and pushed back against any of the criticism about the Oscar nominee. “I truly feel you could meet him and go, ‘He’s nice; he’s charming; he’s charismatic; he knows how to make people feel good about themselves. So that’s just a tactic for total manipulation, because he’s probably just an egocentric.’ Or whatever bulls*** people want to make up about people,” Hayley said. “But over time, you’re just watching him, going: he really works hard, he really cares, he’s really interested in people and wants to engage with them, and he believes in the power of cinema as much as he did when he was five years old.” Hayley also said that Tom made her feel “safe” on the set of Mission: Impossible 7.
When Hayley and Tom were filming their action movie in 2020, it was rumored that they were dating, but they never confirmed the relationship themselves. In June 2022, news of their split was reported and Hayley started dating actor and music producer Ned Wolfgang Kelly. She got engaged to Ned in April 2023. Hayley and Tom had a friendly reunion at the Mission: Impossible 7 premiere in Dubai on June 26. The co-stars shared a hug and Tom leaned in to give Hayley a kiss on the cheek, proving they’ve stayed friendly amidst the rumors about their relationship.