FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE

It seems Cupid's arrow has finally struck Tom Cruise after more than a decade of being unattached

- NICI DE WET

THERE was a time he liked to proclaim his love and didn’t care who was watching – and there were plenty of people watching when he leapt on Oprah Winfrey’s couch and declared his love for Katie Holmes.

That outburst happened all the way back in 2005, but it’s still one of the most memorable moments on the talk-show queen’s show.

But ever since his marriage to Katie imploded in 2012, there’s been almost deafening silence on the Tom Cruise romance front.

There was a maybe with his Mission: Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell in 2022, a fleeting perhaps with Shakira in 2023, a brief are-they-aren’tthey with Sofia Vergara a few months later. But nothing came of any of it.

Tom’s true love seemed to be his helicopter – until rumours of a certain high-flying Russian model and socialite started doing the rounds.

Elsina Khayrova (36) is 61-year old Tom’s new squ eeze, and tongues were wagging when he brought her to a glittering gala event in London recently.

The occasion was a fundraiser at the swanky Raff les hotel for London’s Air Ambulance service hosted by Prince William – but Tom and Elsina were the ones most people were talking about.

They arrived separately, but according to eye-witnesses they quickly reunited inside and stayed close all evening as they mingled with William and other guests.

Sources say Tom bringing her as his date is a clear sign the two are official after five months of under-the-radar dating. Elsina posted pictures of herself afterwards in a stunning black evening dress on her social media accounts, which are filled with glamorous photos of her.