A Russian tycoon who survived assassination attempts in the UK discussed Tom Cruise playing him in a movie - only to discover that the Hollywood actor was reportedly dating his ex-wife.

Dmitry Tsvetkov was embroiled in a divorce battle with his wife Elsina Khyrova, the daughter of a reputed political ally of Vladimir Putin. A High Court judge concluded she was “guilty of sustained duplicity”, including lying over possession of a handbag collection that was worth almost £1 million.

But in a twist that any movie script writer might think too far-fetched, Ms Khyrova has emerged from the condemnation of the High Court judgment, delivered in the summer, to become allegedly romantically linked to Cruise, Hollywood’s biggest and most bankable star.

The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that Ms Khyrova, 36, was “spotted canoodling” with Cruise, who at 61 is 25 years her senior. “They were inseparable, clearly a couple. He seemed to be besotted with her,” the Daily Mail reported, quoting an eyewitness at a party they attended in Grosvenor Square in central London on Saturday night.

Her ex-husband said he learnt of the alleged relationship when friends began contacting him after the article was first published online. He said it was all the more surreal because he had previously had discussions about turning his life story into a film.

“After the judgment in August, a friend of mine who is a producer in Hollywood said ‘why don’t we do a movie?’ It would be about the three assassination attempts, about the divorce. And I said ‘fine but only if Tom Cruise can be the actor’. When I was at school in Russia the guy was so popular. I have enjoyed his movies and he is a great actor. I would make the movie like Mission: Impossible because that is how it’s happened to me.”

He said Cruise was his height and weight and while a little bit older - by about 20 years - he would “love him to play me”.

Mr Tsvetkov, a diamond trader and art collector, who lives on an estate in Surrey, said - after his bruising divorce battle with his wife - that he hoped Cruise was going into the alleged relationship with his “eyes wide open”, a reference to a film Cruise made with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman called Eyes Wide Shut. 

But he said the claim of a relationship was also a welcome distraction. “Nobody is speaking to me about Russian sanctions,” he said. “Now it’s speaking to me about her and him.”

Mr Tsvetkov has been living in fear for his life and was officially notified by UK authorities of an assassination attempt thought to emanate from historic business dealings in Russia. Both Mr Tsvetkov and his ex-wife were born in Russia but have dual UK citizenship.

Ms Khyrova, a former model, is the daughter of Rinat Khayrov, who was a senior politician in the Russian Duma and said to be an ally of Putin.

The couple split in 2020 and the divorce finalised in the summer. Mr Tsvetkov continues to live in a mansion on the Wentworth estate while his ex-wife retained a sizeable property in Knightsbridge. It is thought that her home is close to where Cruise reportedly stays when in London, although it’s also possible the couple met at any number of fashionable restaurants in Mayfair.

Cruise, the biggest box office star of his generation, including starring in the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible movies, has been married three times. He divorced his third wife Katie Holmes 15 years ago.

The Telegraph attempted to contact both Ms Khyrova and Cruise for comment.