Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise has long declared himself an Anglophile after years spent living in the UK – visiting pubs, eating fish and chips and hanging out with Prince William.
But the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun actor has made an abrupt decision to return to the US, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Concierge at the apartment block in London’s Knightsbridge, where Cruise, 63, has been living in a £35million apartment, are said to have been left ‘stunned’ by the star’s sudden departure. Sources say staff were seen at the penthouse property, which overlooks Hyde Park, removing boxes of possessions.
But the reason for the move remains unclear. A source familiar with Cruise’s departure told the MoS: ‘Tom loved London. He loved where he lived, he would get up and go for run around Hyde Park in the mornings.
‘He loved walking in the local area but he also really, really enjoyed jumping in a helicopter at Battersea Heliport and flying off into the quintessentially British countryside.’
The source added: ‘It all happened very quickly, it was a surprise to the staff at the building where his penthouse is.
‘It’s most strange. The UK became both his professional headquarters and private playground, with discrete dates, tightly-guarded movements and late-night arrivals. England became far more than just a filming base.’
Cruise has been making films in the UK for 40 years, but he settled here in 2021. He was spotted at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, visited Glastonbury festival and has even been seen enthusiastically tucking into a classic chicken tikka masala and a takeaway fish and chips.
Princess Catherine of Wales with Tom Cruise at the Top Gun: Maverick at Odeon Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England
Prince William of Wales and actor Tom Cruise at the Top Gun: Maverick performance at the Odeon in Leicester Square on May 19, 2022
The Mission Impossible star, 63, has made the abrupt decision to return to the US leaving the concierge at his apartment block in London’s Knightsbridge (pictured) stunned
Sir Kenneth Branagh, 65, who appeared alongside Cruise in the 2008 historical thriller Valkyrie, revealed the American actor ‘loves British pubs’ and had even learned Cockney rhyming slang.
He made an almost seamless transition into British high society, appearing in a tongue-in-cheek video as his Top Gun character Maverick in a broadcast at Windsor Castle for the concert celebrating King Charles’s coronation, and appearing at a fundraising event with Prince William for the London Air Ambulance charity.
He also attended events for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee alongside David and Victoria Beckham, Gordon Ramsay and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Cruise was also thrilled when he was made an honorary Brit by the British Film Institute last April.
He said of it: ‘I’m truly honoured, I’ve been making films in the UK for over 40 years and have no plans to stop.’ And love blossomed on these shores, too. The star has been linked to a string of glamorous women during his time in London – including actress Hayley Atwell, his co-star in two films from the Mission: Impossible franchise.
More recently he was said to be dating Hollywood actress Ana de Armas. The couple attended a dinner for David Beckham’s 50th birthday at Notting Hill restaurant Core last year, and he is said to have applied for special permission to allow her pets to stay at his Knightsbridge apartment. But it is understood they separated in October.
In 2022, he said: ‘I guess I am an Anglophile. I spend a lot of time in Britain and that’s not just for work reasons. I just love being here. It’s a fantastic blend of old and new… Britain is trendy, too, and has a lot that other countries then copy. I also love the British countryside.’
Last year, it was reported that he was eyeing up properties in the Cotswolds and looked to be putting down further roots.
But it serves to makes his sudden departure, which included removing the blackout curtains he stapled to the walls of his apartment in order to sleep, all the more mysterious.
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Has Tom Cruise walked out on his longest love affair… with Britain? Top Gun star returns to the US after sudden departure from his £35million London flat