Rosie O’Donnellis opening up about her decades-long friendship with “classy"Tom Cruise.

During herappearance on SiriusXM’sThe Jess Cagle Showthis week, O’Donnell, 59, spoke about why she’ll “always love” theMission: Impossibleactor, 58, even if she does not “understand” his Scientology beliefs.

“He is the only person who never misses my birthday. In knowing him for 25 years now, he has never missed my birthday or an event in my life,” said O’Donnell. “Now, I don’t know him enough to go, ‘Hey, Tommy, it’s Ro, the Scientology thing – can we chat?’ Like, that’s not my relationship withTom Cruise. I don’t have his home phone number.”

“I know people think in Hollywood and celebrity [that] everybody knows each other, but I know him in the way that I did in that time 25 years ago,” she added. “But every year, I think what a classy guy he is that he never has forgotten my birthday.”

Continuing, she said, “A lot of people say to me it’s just his secretary, but I don’t believe that. I think he knows in early March, ‘Oh, it’s Rosie’s birthday coming up,’ and he sends me something. Every single year for 25 years.”

Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Ethan Miller/Getty

Rosie O’Donnell and Tom Cruise

Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

“I loveTom Cruiseand I will always loveTom Cruise. I do not understand, you know, the Scientology religion,” O’Donnell added during the interview, also calling the controversial church “scary.” She went on to praise former Scientology memberLeah Remini, who is nowone of its most vocal critics.

Tom Cruise and Rosie O’Donnell in 2001.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Tom Cruise & Rosie O’Donnell

SGranitz/WireImage

Tom Cruise & Rosie O’Donnell

RELATED GALLERY:Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Friends

In December, O’Donnell shared a photo on Instagram of aChristmas gift she received from Cruise. The gold-decorated gift had a message that read, “To: Rosie O’Donnell. Warmest wishes to you this Holiday Season –Tom Cruise.” She captioned the photo, “Christmas is here when tommy’s gift shows up #holidayseason.”

source: people.com