Orlando Bloom‘s punishing weight loss for his new boxing drama left him so physically and mentally depleted that it destroyed his relationship with Katy Perry, sources close to the couple tell RadarOnline.com.
The 48-year-old actor, who shed 30lbs in three months to play a retired fighter in The Cut, lived on a diet of tuna and cucumber while also restricting water.
Friends now say the extreme transformation placed such strain on his body and mind that it damaged his long-term partnership with Perry, 40, the mother of their three-year-old daughter, Daisy.
Bloom himself has spoken candidly about the psychological impact of the transformation.
“What I hadn’t expected and was surprised by was the mental toll that this kind of intense discipline takes,” he said. “The paranoia and anxiety were very real and disturbing, caused by the lack of sleep – turns out you can’t sleep when you’re hungry.”
The actor said he followed the strict regimen to achieve the emaciated look of a boxer the day before a weigh-in, as required for the film’s opening scenes.
Because The Cut, release on 5 September, was shot in reverse order, Bloom began production at his lightest, gradually regaining weight as filming progressed.
He warned his methods were “definitely not something to try at home,” and admitted to developing unhealthy fixations in the run-up to shooting.
“Water restriction to get to my lowest weight for the final scenes led to obsessive thoughts of food, dreaming of what I could eat when finally off a diet of tuna and cucumber,” he said about the impact of his brutal training regime.
The project initially excited Bloom, who had seen physical transformations become a hallmark of intense character work in Hollywood. But the challenge quickly crossed into damaging territory.
A source close to the actor said: “He thought he was prepared, but the deprivation made him a different person. It wasn’t just weight he lost – it was his balance, his calm, his relationship.”
Perry, who has not commented publicly on the claims, had long spoken of Bloom as a stabilizing partner.
The couple, who became engaged in 2019, were known for presenting a united front in raising their daughter. But insiders now say the demands of The Cut came at the worst possible time.
Bloom has attempted to place the experience in a broader perspective, saying the film is about confronting inner battles as much as physical ones.
“Ultimately, this is a story about the struggles we all face and what it takes to battle our internal demons and find self-acceptance,” he said.
