The storybook romance between Hollywood’s favorite homonyms was reportedly alive and kicking until a few weeks ago, when the two stars realized for the first time that their last names were spelled differently, a friend of the couple revealed.
The couple had finished lunch at The Ivy in Beverly Hills, dividing the check 50/50–but when it came back, Cruz and Cruise received each other’s credit card by mistake and discovered the spelling discrepancy.
“They both felt shocked and betrayed,” the friend said. “They decided to break up that afternoon.”
People in the Hollywood community were dumbfounded by news of the breakup and its spelling-based origins, but veteran talent agent Buddy Schlantz of the Major People Agency said he was not surprised in the least.
“Hollywood stars are under a lot of pressure,” Mr. Schlantz said. “The last thing they need is to worry about how to spell someone else’s last name.”
Spelling, Mr. Schlantz said, may have been at the root of Tom Cruise’s last breakup, as well: “He never got the hang of spelling ‘Kidman’–or ‘Nicole,’ for that matter.”
But Mr. Schlantz speculated that there may have been other factors motivating the Cruz-Cruise split: “Frankly, I think Tom Cruise got sick and tired of people calling him a homonym.”
Elsewhere, after his comedy performance at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association’s dinner last Wednesday, President Bush added Washington to the list of places he has bombed.
