Tom & Penelope Splitsville

Lee Anne DeVette, Cruise’s sister and newly appointed publicist, announced that the couple split amicably. It has been said that the two stars’ film careers and long periods apart contributed to the break-up. The two met and began dating on the set of their movie Vanilla Sky, shortly after Cruise’s marriage to Nicole Kidman ended.

There has been talk that another factor that led to the break-up is Cruz’s unwillingness to convert to Scientology, Cruise’s religion of choice. Cruz’s publicist, Robert Garlock, denies that religion played any part in the break-up. He says that Cruz "took [church] courses and found them beneficial." Maybe she found them beneficial to ending her relationship with Cruz. Maybe it was something entirely different. Even though Garlock insists Tom and Penny remain "good friends" and insists that neither is dating anyone else, there have been murmurings about a new romance.

Word on the street is that Penelope has moved on to another Hollywood hottie, Matthew McConaughey. The two are currently shooting their movie Sahara in Morocco, and all reports from the movie set are that this romance is hot hot hot! Sources say that Cruz turned to McConaughey for comfort after her split from Cruise and, being the polite Texan he is, Matthew was more than willing to oblige. A source close to the set says, "It’s been a long, hot, exciting shoot if you know what I mean. Watching the two of them together, you could almost see the sparks fly." I wonder what Matthew’s religion is?!