Cher tells Oprah of fling with Tom Cruise

In what has to be one of the oddest couplings in showbiz history, veteran performer Cher has reportedly revealed on an upcoming Oprah Winfrey show that she had a brief fling with actor Tom Cruise.

According to the Daily Mail, not only did the singer fall madly in love, but she has revealed Tom was just 23-years-old at the time of the affair.

At 39, Cher was 16 years Tom's senior when the couple met in the 80s during the early years of his career and shortly after the release of his hit film Risky Business.

The paper reported that Cher, now 61, told Oprah Winfrey: "I was crazy about him."

In the show, which will go to air in the US next month, she spoke of Cruise, now 45, as an awkward young man who was struggling to adjust to his new life, the paper revealed.

"He was shy," she said.

"He said he felt like such a boob in school and nobody talked to him. We went on a date once for dinner in a New York restaurant and the waitress was from his old school.

"He told me she never talked to him back in school, but now he was recognised he got all her attention.

"It could have been a great big romance because I was crazy for him," Cher said.

It was recently announced Tom Cruise would be appearing on another Oprah Winfrey show.

His previous appearance resulted in the actor becoming the butt of jokes after he jumped on the talkshow host's couch declaring his love for then-girlfriend Katie Holmes.