Princess Diana Allegedly Had A Crush On Tom Cruise But Changed Her Mind After Meeting Him For One Reason
Even royals have dating criteria.
DFree | Shutterstock | Wikimedia Commons It seems Princess Diana had some strict guidelines when it came to dating.
Of course, many know of the former Princess of Wales' tumultuous marriage to then-Prince Charles, followed by her relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan in 1995 and her final relationship with Dodi Fayed, who perished with Diana in that fatal 1997 car crash in Paris.
However, at one point, Princess Diana rejected the idea of dating Tom Cruise, and the reason was totally out of his control.
The reason was revealed by Darren McGrady, a former chef of Princess Diana who cooked for her at Kensington Palace for four years.
In a June 2021 YouTube video paying tribute to what would have been Diana's 60th birthday, according to Geo TV, McGrady revealed to viewers a conversation he had with Diana about the 'Top Gun' actor.
“She came into the kitchen one morning and said, ‘Darren, we’ve had an invite to go and watch the making of Mission Impossible at Pinewood Studios in London, for me to take William and Harry,'" he recalled of his and Diana's talk.
“Of course, they were young then and they’d probably love the pyrotechnics and everything," he continued.
McGrady then said that Diana asked him if William and Harry would even be interested in meeting Cruise, to which he slyly tried to encourage a relationship between Diana and Cruise.
“I remember saying, 'I’m not sure about the boys your Royal Highness, but if you get to meet Tom Cruise…’ She said, ‘Darren I’ll crack the funnies.’”
While Princess Diana ended up taking William and Harry to meet Cruise, her impression of the actor wasn't the best.
"She came into the kitchen later that day and she’d been and the boys absolutely loved it – all those explosions and things," McGrady continued.
McGrady then revealed the reason why Diana refused to date Cruise.
"She came in, picked up some fruit, walked out, and didn’t say anything. But as she was walking out, she said, ‘That’s another one off the list. He’s too short,'" he said.
Princess Diana was 5-foot-10, while Cruise was definitely shorter at 5-foot-7, which was clearly too much of a disparity for the former Princess of Wales.
Princess Diana previously admitted to having a crush on Tom Cruise.
Despite Diana turning down the idea of dating Cruise, she did have a slight crush on the actor.
According to PEOPLE, Diana first met Cruise, along with his then-wife Nicole Kidman, in 1992 at the London premiere of 'Far and Away.'
Author Judy Wade, who wrote the biography 'Diana,' revealed that Princess Diana found Cruise "extremely fanciable."
Diana's crush on Cruise was also corroborated by McGrady, who told Express that Diana was looking forward to meeting Cruise during her visit to the 'Mission Impossible' set with William and Harry.
However, it seemed Nicole Kidman wasn't too fond of Diana's crush on her husband, according to Wade.
"Well, that explains why Nicole Kidman turned down roles with Diana every time and wasn't happy that her best friend Naomi Watts accepted," Wade said, via The Things.
"Nicole continues to hold a grudge, even though she divorced Tom, and the woman who posed a threat died."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.