Heather Locklear Spills on Awkward Tom Cruise Date—Why He Didn’t Make the Cut!

Heather Locklear recently opened up about her first and only date with Tom Cruise, revealing the reasons why their relationship didn’t go beyond that one outing. The 62-year-old actress, best known for her role as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place, shared the story during a panel at 90s Con in Florida on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

Locklear recalled first meeting Cruise in the 1980s during an audition for a film. Although they both auditioned for the same role, she wasn’t impressed by their performances. “We both did an audition for the film together – the two of us – and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m terrible,’” Locklear joked. “He’s even worse!”

Despite being around the same age, Locklear felt that Cruise came across as much younger. She described him as “this little baby boy” and felt like the more mature one at the time. After the audition, the two, along with Sean Penn, hung out together, and Locklear recalled Cruise being very deferential, referring to her as “ma’am.” She, in turn, humorously called him “sir.”

In the 1980s, Locklear identified as a “rock and roll girl,” a style she felt didn’t quite align with Cruise’s demeanor. This feeling of disconnect was one of the reasons their first and only date didn’t go further. “He didn’t quite cut it,” Locklear said candidly.

She also reflected on their time together at the popular L.A. nightclub, Club Lingerie, where they went dancing. Despite the awkwardness, she admitted that Cruise was still “really cute.” It was during their night out that Cruise performed a dance move that would later become iconic in his 1983 hit Risky Business. “He actually did that before [the movie],” Locklear explained, referring to the famous scene where Cruise slides across the floor in socks and a shirt. “I was like ‘Yay!’ But he was very nice to me.”

Though Locklear’s romantic life has had its share of ups and downs, including marriages to Tommy Lee and Richie Sambora, and more recently, an engagement to her high school sweetheart Jack Heisser, she has remained pragmatic about love. “I’m like, ‘You’re my man for the rest of my life, whether we get married or not,’” she shared. She expressed that, for her, a wedding isn’t a priority, as long as she and Heisser continue to love and support each other.

While Locklear’s romance with Tom Cruise didn’t evolve into anything lasting, it’s clear that the two actors share a mutual respect, and the memories of that night remain a humorous and fond chapter in both of their lives.