KATIE & JAMIE’S STRANGE LOVE STORY

They’ve been dating for more than three years, but Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx still don’t want anyone to know

They both hid under broad-brimmed hats, but there was no mistaking Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx as they hopped on a private plane together in Paris on May 11. They had just spent several days together in France, where Jamie was shooting Robin Hood. But the trip was more pleasure than business, with the couple spending a chunk of their time holed up at the Park Hyatt Paris-vendôme hotel in the world’s most romantic city.

Parisian getaway aside, there’s nothing traditional about Katie and Jamie’s romance. Now, for the first time, insiders are exclusively telling Life & Style about the bizarre relationship. Though the pair have been involved for more than three years, they’ve been intensely secretive about it, meeting in undisclosed locations, donning disguises and publicly insisting they’re just friends. “Their relationship is warm and passionate and very, very private,” says a source. “Only their closest friends are privy to their love affair.” And while Katie, 38, has been growing tired of sneaking around, Jamie, 49, insists on keeping things top secret. “This is not at all how Katie saw her life going,” says an insider. “But she will take this over nothing.”

EXTREME SECRECY

Jamie once told Oprah Winfrey, “Whoever you’re dating, don’t let anybody know.” That’s a rule he’s determined to stick to when it comes to Katie. Her ex, Tom Cruise, introduced his friend Jamie to Katie after the two men filmed Collateral. Though their friendship didn’t blossom into romance until well after her 2012 divorce, the source says both Katie and Jamie believed Tom, 54, would be furious if he found out. And so they took to sneaking around. “Katie would go to Jamie’s house and lie down in the back of a car so she wouldn’t be seen on the way in,” reveals the insider. When the pair ventured out, they often disguised themselves. “Jamie and Katie also felt safe on yachts,” notes the source, “because no one could see them out on the water.”

At first, the secrecy was exciting. “It added passion,” says the insider. But now, the mom of 11-yearold Suri is exhausted by it. Nearly five years after her divorce from Tom, with speculation swirling about her relationship status, Katie is ready to go public. But Jamie still isn’t. He even recently dismissed talk about their romance as “fake news,” the last thing Katie’s concerned pals want to hear. “Katie’s friends are telling her that if he isn’t willing to step up and be there for her as a true partner, it’s time for her to move on,” says another insider. “But she really loves him and can’t seem to let go.”