Heather Locklear reveals why Tom Cruise ‘didn’t quite cut it’ on their first and only date

Heather Locklear has revealed why she and Tom Cruise didn’t make it past the first date.

The 62-year-old actor, best known for playing Amanda Woodward in Melrose Place , shared the story about meeting Cruise in the 1980s during a panel at 90s Con in Florida on Saturday, September 14. Speaking to the crowd, she explained that she first introduced herself to the Top Gun star when they were at an audition.

“We both did an audition for the film together – the two of us – and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m terrible,’” she said according to People during the event, before quipping, “He’s even worse!”

Locklear claimed that Cruise’s behavior, at the time, made him seem younger than her even though they were around the same age. She also revealed that after the audition, she hung out with him and another future star.

“He was just like this little baby boy that I feel like I was a little bit older, and he ended up coming over to my house with Sean Penn,” she added. “And they were just nice, but he was very, ‘Yes ma’am’ to me, and I was like, ‘Okay, sir.’”

Locklear called herself a “rock and roll girl” back in the 1980s, which she thought was a style that didn’t fit with Cruise. However, she did share that after their first meeting, they went on their first and only date.

“He didn’t quite cut it,” she explained. “We went out dancing to Club Lingerie at that time and, and I’ve said this before, I mean, he was really cute.”

She also revealed that on the outing, one of his dance moves was from his hit movie, Risky Business . In the 1983 film, there’s a scene where Cruise’s character dances in his living room while only wearing socks and a shirt and slides down to his knees.

“He actually did that before [the movie], and I was dancing along like, ‘Do you stop dancing if they’re down there?’” she said. “I was like ‘Yay!’ But he was very nice to me.”

In 1986, Locklear tied the knot with musician Tommy Lee, before they separated in 1993. She married singer Richie Sambora in 1994 and they welcomed their daughter, Ava, in 1997. Locklear and Sambora officially divorced in 2007.

Locklear has since been engaged to her former high school sweetheart, Jack Heisser, who she reconnected with in 2016. The pair got engaged in 2020; however, the actor has previously expressed that she’s not in a rush to tie the knot.

“I’m like, ‘You’re my man for the rest of my life, whether we get married or not,’” she told People in 2021. “His daughter goes, ‘When are you guys getting married?’ And I’m like, ‘Can we just get through the movie? Can we just get through the pandemic? Can we just get through [all of that]?’”

She added: “[A wedding] is so not important. We’re together, and we love each other and support each other. And really that’s all that matters.”