Nicole Kidman is still doing press in support of her critically acclaimed turn in Rabbit Hole, the film that will likely score Kidman yet another Oscar nomination, maybe. During some of the press for Rabbit Hole, Nicole has made constant reference to her daughter Sunday Rose, and, as often happens with Nicole, she often sounds like being a mother to Sunday is her first go-around as a parent. It’s not that Nicole “forgets” that she has two children with Tom Cruise (Connor and Isabella), it’s that she often makes reference to how “amazing” it is to a parent this time around, and all the things she’s learned as a parent now, stuff like that. It’s not forgetting… it’s like her adopted children are an afterthought, a side note, and simply not as important as Sunday Rose. Anyway, Nicole was recently interviewed in Hello Magazine, and they asked her about Isabella and Connor. Her response was… interesting:
Nicole Kidman has admitted that she is sad that her two adopted children chose to live with ex-husband Tom Cruise. Isabella, 18, and Connor, 15, live in America with Cruise, his wife Katie Holmes and their four-year-old daughter Suri, but Nicole said that she has to respect and accept their decision.
She told Hello! Magazine, ‘They live with Tom, which was their choice. I’d love them to live with us, but what can you do?’
The actress welcomed daughter Sunday Rose with new husband Keith Urban in July 2008, and said she was named after their favourite day of the week.
‘When we were both alone, before we met each other, Sunday was the day we dreaded most, because when you don’t have someone in your life Sundays can be really lonely,’ she explained.
‘Then when we met, we went from dreading Sunday to really loving it. It was the day when nobody was going to bother you, you could stay in bed, you could do what you wanted to do. We just thought, ‘What a great name for our baby!’ It’s a beautiful thing at 43 to have a two-and-a-half year old.’
[From Monsters and Critics]
It’s just… strange. I have no doubt that Tom Cruise pulled some kind of Scientology blackmail/black magic to get custody of Connor and Isabella, and maybe Nicole didn’t really fight him on that. But I don’t really know – I mean, who does? Who knows what goes on with Tom anyway?
In addition to those comments, Nicole also told the Associated Press: “It took me so long to get pregnant and have a baby, so I have enormous gratitude. I have two grown children with that enormous gratitude that they are healthy and sane and together and are great, great people. So I’m not one of those people that needs to be reminded of what I have.” Does anyone else get the feeling that Nicole hasn’t even seen Isabella and Connor in YEARS? What’s up with that?
Weird either way–does anybody ever see the older kids with TOM? It’s all Suri, Suri, Suri.
I think the Scientology influence has a huge impact on how often Nicole sees her older children. Since they follow the religion (their father brain washed them) and Nicole does not, I think they are encouraged not to associate with her. They are still minors – maybe when they are older they will break free from these influences….
I once heard that it was suspected that Connor and Isabella were kids who were born to scientologists in the Sea Org group who, for whatever reason (likely indentured servitude to L. Ron for life) were not allowed to have kids so any offspring were farmed out to other members like Cruise who couldn’t have any of their own. I’d hate to think they breeded them on purpose. Anyxenu, you can bet that they were brainwashed by the CoS and their mother would have been the last person they would have wanted to live with for fear of being ostracized and shunned, let alone run off the road someday by a black SUV. But didn’t Isabella recently show signs of wanting to break ranks and move to live with Kidman? There was a photo of her this summer trailing behind Katie and Suri and she just looked depressed and ready to get the hell out.
I don’t know what kind of crazy Tom pulled on Nicole , but Katie better watch out. That being said Nicole should make more of an effort to be around them and have some kind of visitation.
I think Nicole is relieved to have gotten out of her marriage to Cruise, and the kids were adopted to put forth a wholesome family image. Let’s not forget, they were doing the whole adoption thing way before Brad and Angelina. Maybe the Kidman/Cruise marriage was contractual. How long has Kate got left in her marriage contract?
An old school friend of mine who worked on the Mission Impossible set pretty much told me that they had separate relationships/lives.
As for the children being swallowed up in the Scientology cult. I don’t believe that at all. They love their Hollywood lifestyles and Nicole isn’t into that.
I think these kids are stuck on the $cientology glue trap and that is the reason that Nicole has little contact with them. Must be very hard to penetrate through a cult.
There are usually some pictures of the older kids, but they are a lot of times out of frame. The Paps only seem to care about Suri.
sometimes i do wonder if nicole has seen her older kids in years and i don’t doubt that if that is the case it’s cos of tom’s scientology voodoo. still i do wonder exactly what he’s doing because no mom i know could be kept away from her kids for any reason. i don’t buy that she doesn’t care about them but perhaps the rules of the blackmail or whatever insist that she avoids talking about them unless directly asked?
It seems as though she feels the same way regarding her children that I still do about a cat I left with an ex when we split. Sure miss the thing, but oh well…
It is my understanding that she doesn’t want to be photographed or pap’d with the other two, but either the Nashville press is EXTREMELY considerate or (more likely) she hasn’t seen them in years.
wowww!
OK since everyone is out with the rumours here is one I’ve heard. That when Nicole got involved with Keith who has addiction problems Tom basically withdrew whatever visitation she had because he didn’t want the children exposed to him.
It does seem somewhat believable to me that Nicole who was in a loveless and controlled marraige for years would choose to be with a passionate man over already restricted visitation with her children.
Ultimatly I feel really sorry for Isabella and Conner. And Sunday also who doesn’t get to spend anytime with her siblings.
I remember Katie bragging long ago that Connor and Isabella called her mom, not Nicole. It stood out because it was so sad. I also think she was allowed to leave but not to take the kids with her.
There was a mention of their being together within the last two years, perhaps in Tennessee. I think she does see them occasionally, but the paparazzi are not notified. Yeah, Tom and Scientology are probably the reasons she does not see them often.
The older children seem to be merely heartstrings to the past. A place she can’t go but is looking forward to the day when they can all have a relationship that at least ackowledges past love and commitment. Seems to be a gray area right now without a resolution.
I still think that Tom is Connor and Isabella’s biological dad. Conners features resemble Tom’s from phots I’ve seen. Could be why the kids stay with him full time too. Nicole said that there was info once she could not share, but one day could. I think she said it on the tonight show a few years after the divorce. She was talking in regards to the kids.
Hey now, don’t let the blame fall on Tom. He may be too much of a scientologyst but he’s a great parent. And he always is with ALL of his children, and always refers of his children making no comparison between them and Suri.
Nicole is not. She’s all “sunday is my first daughter, oh it’s nice to have a baby! I almost lost the hope to be A MOTHER”. Like she has no other children.
It’s her fault if her children don’t want to stay with her, not Tom’s.
Regardless, Connor and Isabella are Nicole’s children and she should spend time with them regardless of scientology etc
Nicole has 3 children and her comment
‘what can you do’ re they chose to live with Tom is really poor – she can do a lot, its disgusting if she doesn’t see her older kids
To be fair, I haven’t seen a ton of pap shots of Nicole with Sunday Rose either. I do question why I don’t see the older kids with Tom though. We see Suri all the time!
But, back to Nicole. I find it really strange how she said she has two “grown” children. Isn’t the younger one 13? That isn’t really “grown”, is it?
Cut the scientology crap please. I never saw Nicole with all of her children, never in years. Tom does, but of course he’s a lot with his 4years old and the grown up kids prefers to do something else on their own.
And if it’s true. Nicole is either way a bad mother, she let her ex blackmail her instead of taking care of her children? Not a single mother would bear it. But, in my opinion, she not so much attached to them. She doesn’t seem to care.
Isabella is not trying to break away from this, Tom Cruise is moving her into one of his empty mansions he uses for Scientology seminars.
@ Stronzilla
‘Anyxenu’
patent that. it’s hilarious! lol 🙂
Nicole & Tom have been divorced for 10 years right? How did a 5 & 8 year old “decide” to live with Tom? Custody almost always goes to the mother & I don’t think a judge will listen to the kids’ opinion until they’re 12 or 13. Is very fishy & always has been.
Influencing and controlling the actions of others, making them mentally and emotionally vulnerable; scaring them into silence no matter how far away they are from that cult, is a form of depravity. That is exactly what Scientology is: depraved and everyone holding power in that cult is a psychopath. The End.
No, it was Scieno-blackmail, as the author suggested. The addiction has nothing to do with it, Nicole had nothing to do with those 2 kids after she and Tom split, long before Keith, and that disassociation can be directly related to scientology. This is a tactic they use openly, ‘disconnection’ from suppressive persons…
He’s got a few things on her and she’s got a few on him and they will always have tension, and be tethered by this invisible, delicate balance.
Don’t judge. Nobody REALLY knows when/if she sees her older children.
I think Scientology had a huge part in all of this. Don’t they practically force you to admit all the things you’ve done wrong, tape your confessions, and blackmail you when you try to leave?
I’m guessing they’ve got dirt on Nicole and vice versa. If Nicole reveals anything, she is just one person going against one too many crazies. I’d keep my mouth shut and do whatever is needed to get a dangerous cult out of my life too. Tom has had the kids for so long that it’s not hard to believe they are brainwashed about Nicole. I don’t think she’s a saint but there is something very wrong in water about Tom and Scientology.
When Tom hired his sister as his publicist that was the REAL him. He’s just been doing damage control since then.
That quote about being lonely on Sunday was when she was on Oprah. I think they cut and pasted several interviews.
But I don’t see how the older kids “live” with Tom/Katie. They are rarely seen with them either. Tom/Katie seem so focused on Suri and Nicole/Keith on Sunday Rose.
I wonder if the Scientology is the reason they “live” with their father. Tom has been out of the country filming. Katie has been filming too. YET we don’t see the older kids at all with either.
It is strange but who really knows what is happening.
I sure don’t.
I remember her saying in an interview that her older kids loved Sunday Rose, so she had to have seen them in the last 2 years….I don’t know what happened, I think Nicole wanted out of that marriage so bad, she would agree to anything…
When I read her comments, I too, found it strange that she doesn’t consider her adopted children and their feelings when she makes these comments. She just praises Sunday….and rarely mentions her adopted kids.
I feel bad for Isabella and Conner. As a mother myself, I would die if I couldn’t see my children, adopted or not, frequently. I think NK may have been missing that maternal instinct until she finally had a biological child. Or maybe she was an unfit mother !? If I was her, I’d fight til the end for visitstion…perhaps she did, who knows?! But it doesn’t seem like she did. It would have been all over the tabloids and media.
Man I would give anything to hear Nicoles side of the story. What really went down.
Yeah, I don’t think shes a bad mother, I think shes been pushed out by the cult. Like someone else said, its called “Disconnection”. So freaky.
I see Serena’s drank the Kool-Aid.
Kidman was a Lainey Blind item on a famous mother who doesn’t care her very young child
I agree with # 24 aenflex.. it’s all controlled by Tom’s involvement in Scientology, and she had to give the kids up to get out of the marriage. I think she has tried to have a relationship with them, but because they live in Cali and she lives in Tennessee it’s difficult. She did say one time that they come and visit on occasion and she sees them when they are in California. I always thought it was strange how much Conner acts and looks like his dad, since he was “adopted”, so the theory that they are his biological kids makes sense on all levels.
Occasionally there are some photos of the two older kids being photographed with Tom Cruie (basketball games) or with Katie Holmes (shopping). It’s not their father’s fault that they are not as interesting for paparazzi as much as Suri seems to be.
Maybe Nicole Kidman just wanted to let people know that she and Tom let the kids decide which parent they wanted to live with and they simply respected their wishes.
And if she and the kids are not so close, maybe it’s better not to force anything.
Just because you don’t see paparazzi pictures of Nicole with her children doesn’t mean she doesn’t see them.
We don’t really know what goes on in their lives. We don’t know the divorce and custody agreements. We don’t know how Scientology plays into their relationship. We have have no idea because both Nicole and Tom have deemed it NONE OF OUR BUSINESS and kept their mouths shut.
Judging them when we know nothing is pretty stupid.
I also wouldn’t doubt since we’re speculating, that Tom cheated quite a bit on Nicole and the two adopted children are his children from an affair.
Which would explain why there might not be closeness between them and Nicole.
Hanh, affairs with other men certainly aren’t going to produce offspring 😉
One of the worst things the CoS does is tape “audits” which can contain some pretty damning information. When Nicole was in the early years of her marriage and going along with some of the CoS crap, she had audits done which Tom is now holding over her head, threatening to expose her. Just before their split was revealed, a good friend of mine who’s in the movie industry in Toronto overheard her at a meeting looking visibly upset and whispering that “if this gets out I’m ruined….”. So yes, it’s the CoS who is preventing her from being an active parent to Connor and Isabella, not her being too involved with Keith and Sunday to care.
Nicole miscarried right as Tom and her were divorcing(It was a People cover so its a matter of public record) , in fact it seemed to cause the seperation . Weren’t there several rumours about that child not being Tom’s. I think whatever scandal that occured gave Tom the upper hand in custody. Or possibly it was agreed when their marraige contract was drafted that Tom would get custody of the kids.
Someone who worked on one of Tom and Nicole’s films told me that whenever Connor and Isabella were on the set Tom was an enthusiastic, hands-on dad while Nicole practically ignored them. I wish everyone would stop blaming Tom and Scientology for everything. “It takes two,” and as several people have pointed out, where is Nicole’s maternal instinct regarding her two older children? I also think that the circumstances surrounding her marriage to Keith are strange. Other than both being Australian, what do they have in common? He used to be a very low profile person, not very well known outside of Nashville and the country music industry. Now he’s “Mr. Hollywood,” always out and about with his glamorous A-list movie star wife. I wonder if this too is some sort of mutually beneficial “arranged relationship” agreement.
I can’t stand Nicole Kidman so my opinion is definitly biased, but I think N.K. is such a self consumed narcissist that it was probably easy to walk away from children that weren’t biologically hers. I’ll always remember a flight attendent from Quantas telling me that she had three nannies and a bodyguard on every flight and that only Nicole and her assistant sat in First Class- AND that she was a first class bitch for 18 hours.
@Bill Hicks is God: “Affairs with men…” That is the greatest laugh I’ve had in a long time. Love it.
@Uzi: The comment about Keith and Nicole’s relationship is just silly. Or course we don’t know circumstances surrounding their mutual attractions because we don’t know either of them. LOL! Hilarious.
There were pictures of Nicole and Isabella and Connor when they were younger after the divorced but after a photo of Isabella with her hair dyed and rumors started that Tom was really mad that Nicole let her do it and you never saw photo’s of Nicole with Isabella and Connor again. Ether Tom stop her from seeing them or she chose to spend time with them away from the paparazzi so what she does with the them will not be reported back to Tom. Tom dose not spend much time with Isabella and Connor ether he’s been away and now that he’s back in the states he spends time in NY with Katie Holmes and Suri having family time/photo op without Isabella and Connor. Katie, Suri and Tom have all been away doing their own thing while Isabella and Connor been back home with Tom’s sister, Tom has full Custody of Isabella and Connor yet he chooses to spends most of his time away from them and with Suri when he’s around.
” I have two grown children with that enormous gratitude that they are healthy and sane and together and are great, great people”
SANE?? What an odd choice of words. Does this mean she’s surprised they’re not all crazied up living with their dad?
@DetRiotgirl: Isabella is 18 and Connor is going to be 16 in January. So one of the kids is grown. I don’t really Connor qualifies as grown yet.
While I don’t think NK’s entirely Earth mother material, she’s always been careful to shield ALL her kids from the media; for me it would be suspect if she were to start posing with them for pap shots, just to prove what a “great mom” she is, and I respect her for that. Remember that Tom was exactly the same before Suri came along – now that he has living proof his sperm works he’ll show her off like a performing monkey.
it does not even seem to be 50/50 custody.plus tom was all weird about the split ‘nic knows why’…i think she stopped drinking the kool aid and the kids are totally brainwashed.
he is just creepy
The court doesn’t care about Scientology or cults and that who ultimately decides visitation if the parents can’t come to an agreement. Nicole does not see her kids because she CHOOSES not to. Tom can’t legally keep her from them. She doesn’t even live in LA to at least be closer to them. In their divorce settlement she was awarded 100 million and shared custody. It was also Tom who left Nicole not the other way around. People seem to forget facts.
Connor and Isabella seem like an afterthought for both parents. Sad really. Anytime, I see Isabella in a photo she seems like the hired help. I hope that this isn’t true but that is the feeling I get.
I always got the impression that Nicole loved her adopted children very much. I remember seeing pictures of her with them after the divorce. And remember the touching speech she gave about Isabel when she won her Oscar? Something like, she’d spend her whole life trying to make her mother proud and now all she wants is to make her daughter proud of her?
We’ve heard a lot about how CoS forces people to totally cut off family members who are not supportive of CoS. She might have been able to have a pull on them still as their mother when they were 8,9,10 years old but once they turn teenagers and they see their mother as a damaging person, or whatever the cult calls her, she can’t really force them kicking and screaming to come see her.
I have no doubt that Tom made himself and CoS the dominate force in his children’s life even when he was married to Nicole. Perhaps she feels that Sunday is the first child that is really her own and not belonging to Tom and his cult.
@35-I agree-so many variables, who the hell knows? I practiced family law for awhile and I am now divorced-one thing I do know is that somewhere between the two camps is the “truth”, if there is such a thing. The other thing is that some parts of the marriage/breakup are so painful the individuals in the divorce can’t even admit them to themselves. Rolling children into the mix makes everything that much more excruciating.
I would point to Exhibit A, though-Katie. She looks utterly lifeless, so depressed…
Most US courts recognize the wishes of children over the age of 12.
If the children wanted to live with Tom, the judge would have granted him custody.
Unless Nicole could have proved Tom to be an unfit parent.
Scientology orders some members to have no contact with their families. It’s a cult. That’s likely what happened, here. The “church” ordered the kids to not have contact with Nicole following the divorce.
It seems that a lot of people criticizing Nicole are unaware that children of divorce can usually choose which parent they want to live with when they are 13 (assuming both parents will have them). Nicole lives in Nashville. Tom lives (or at least is based) in LA. Where would YOU rather live? Perhaps Connor and Isabellas’ decision to live with Tom is simply a matter of location preference.
I doubt if Scientology has anything to do with anything. People do love to kick this organization around though. We can only guess about these relationships. Anyway, Connor and Isabella are at the age where they probably don’t want to be seen walking down the street, etc. and have their pictures taken to be criticized later by us so-called fans. I notice even Suri is now trying to hide her face.
I’ve seen pics of Isabelle with her mom, but I don’t know that I have seen any recent ones of Conor with her. Tom’s one controlling (dude) seems like, so who knows how that has affected the relationship the kids have with their mom.
The thing that bugs me is that Tom and Nicole used to seem very dedicated to protecting Isabella and Conor from the crowds, the photographers, and the fame. They seemed interested in them having a “real” childhood, outside of the spotlight. But, with Suri- Tom seems to be doing the complete opposite. She has got to be one of the most photographed celebrity children.
Whatever reason there was – it’s unforgettable. Nicole officially adopted those children. And she has to be their mother. When she abandoned them they were how much? 7-10? They needed mother. Instead they have only father. They probably see Nicole once in a month. Or once in 2-3 month. No wonder they call her Nicole. And they write that Tom’s sister is raising them. So they probably call her mommy.
I don’t know if they make her to adopt them or black-mailed her to leave them. But if she would really love them then she would never give up on them. We saw many times how mother’s fight for their children. And imagine that Keith would divorce her and take Sunday away and let Nicole to see Sunday once in a moth. Would Nicole give up? Of cource not. Because she is like… her child. And those were adopted by Tom.
If she doesn’t care about them that much then she at least should not talk in press how amazing it is to be mommy “for the first time”.
How many years it was since we saw Nicole with the other kids? And yet we see Tom with them. And Nicole with Sunday every week.
@ Anna Nicole made the choice to leave LA, not a kid friendly decision even with private planes, and restricted visitation if it were important to her she could still be involved with school activities etc, etc. She also spends alot of time in Australia. Lainey has a great article on this (she quotes CB) my favorite part.
“Or perhaps the GMD(her nickname for Tom) has restricted her access. If that’s the case, if I were her, I would have fought. What else is worth fighting for?”
http://laineygossip.com/Connor_and_Isabella_Cruise_are_rarely_seen_with_Nicole_Kidman_21dec10.aspx?CatID=0&CelID=0
@ Bill Hicks-two separate posts gave me the giggles!
@ Stronzilla-It’s bred, not breeded. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be surprised if your theory is close to base.
Nicole seems like a cold, hard Bitch. Scientology or not, I would have fought for my kids.
I once read a quote from an “eyewitness” that Tom and Nicole were on a plane with their kids and one of them was crying and Nicole said to the Nanny “Can’t you shut that fucking kid up.” It was, obviously, a long time ago but I have never forgotten it as it seemed to be from a reputable source, not a National Enquirer type source.
I think that it DOES have EVERYTHING to do with Scientology. I remember seeing a bunch of pics when they were young where Nicole doted on these kids.
How can you question this? We all know this is a cult. What do other cults usually do when one member breaks free?
They alienate them.
You people sound so crazy. Watching Oprah earlier this year Tom said the kids were mostly with their mother. So who knows what is going on and it’s really none of our business. I think she says stuff to keep people at bay. I saw a pic of Connor a few months ago and he looked annoyed at the photos being taken. The fact the kids were hidden is probably from Nicoles part and it’s a new day in age for paparazzi.
I love how people here don’t understand how CoS works. Nicole is considered a “suppressed” person. Her kids most likely want nothing to do with her! They were raised to avoid ppl who leave the church, and that includes family. When you leave CoS, they keep all their private blackmail files on you. Imagine being famous and having yourself blackmailed by your very famous spouse who can destroy your image. She never stood a chance. And neither does Katie Boo if she leaves.
IDK. I’m ready to judge her just like the rest of you here, but I think there is just too much weirdness with TC and COS to even venture a guess. This is one story we’ll never know the truth about but I bet it’d be a whopper if the details ever got out. I kind of give her a pass on the comments as they don’t seem especially bad to me. And the story about naming her daughter is actually beautiful.
@diButler – Yes, I’ve heard that before about once you leave the church you are pretty much considered an outcast. This is one of the things I’m talking about. The files, the (possible) threat of blackmail…just too much for me to try and judge her in this regard
One thing Nicole never left the church of Scientology because she always maintained her Catholic faith throughout the marriage unlike Katie. I don’t know if there is any difference there.
@Butler: Her children should be more important than her public image. If I had to choose between leaving my children behind to protect my public image or fighting for them and risk having something get out that might ruin my career or public image, I would choose my kids.
Come on, it takes two to make a marriage work, it takes two to break it down. Let’s give it a rest and each is to blame for whatever went on. I’m not a fan of either of them nor Scientology but, consider the children actually DID CHOOSE for themselves. How many kids of divorced families do not want to leave their childhood home/area or school? No difference here other than their parents are celebrities, but they still have 2 parents, with an extended family.
Nicole said the children CHOSE to live with Tom. Her home is in Nashville with Keith. When she married Keith, moved to Nashville, is when the kids opted to live with Tom. At Connor and Isabella’s age, friends and relationships were established when the duo divorced, maybe they didn’t want to move for that reason? Maybe they wanted stability to remain in the home they’d grown up in, not to mention not wanting to change schools. Maybe they do not get along with Keith – remember he was drinking and doing drugs and entered rehab shortly after the wedding. What child wants to live in that environment? Maybe they had a falling out with their mother? Maybe there is more rather than everyone pointing the finger at Tom and his Scientology – maybe the kids are HAPPY where they are.
It’s the photographers who pick/choose who to put in the photo. It’s the same thing no matter who has the kids – Suri and Sunday are worth more $$ to the photographers and there is always reference to Connor and Isabella with the occasional photo. It’s the same no matter where they go. Blame the photogs for lack of photos, not the parents. Give the kids some credit for choosing what life they want – they are no different than any other children who come from a divorced home.
@selena: Hi Katie!
CoS has EVERYTHING to do with it & those who don’t think so obviously don’t know much (or anything) about the horrors they inflict on people. Tom has said repeatedly that Connor & Bella are homeschooled by his (equally CoS involved) sister & since that is the case, I bet they have been raised to view their mother as an enemy of the “church”.
I hope one day we will all know what really happened with Tom & Nic, cause whatever it was, it was EPIC
The kids never had normal lives, they were home schooled like prisoners in CoS, never alone. They are slways surrounded by and dependant on whackjob CoS adults for their every need. I see how they could fear going against Tom’s wishes and having to cope outside CoS.
Aren’t Connor and Isabella at a Co$ boarding school most of the year?
And if Nicole’s fear of the contents of her audits becoming public is what led to the custody/visitation arrangement, she should rethink that. Unless the audits contain a confession of a crime that would get her sent to jail if it came out, once the scandal and frenzy of her private matters becoming public died down, she’d have her kids.
# 88 – Sometimes it doesn’t take two people to break up a marriage. Sometimes one person goes completely off the rails and ruins the marriage by themselves while the other person is still desperately trying to hold things together. I think the whole “it takes 2” thing is something that people say to make themselves feel better so they can believe they have more control than they do.
Grace, You’re right that it doesn’t always take 2. But since none of us know what happened during the Kidman/Cruise marriage and divorce, it’s kind of unfair to put all the blame on one person. dontcha think?
All the blame Scientology &/or Tom Cruise rhetoric still doesn’t adequately explain why a woman willingly walked away from her children. The theory also negates the fact that she has just as much dirt on him as he has on her and she could have used that as a bargaining chip. She has always sounded disinterested in those two kids and it probably has more to do with they’re not being biologically related to her. Say what you want about Tom and his “crazy” religion but he does seem to love and care for his children, all three of them.
I recently saw pics of Bella with Nic in Australia Bella had blue hair. As for Tom and the older kids certain sites crop them out the pics. I saw some pics of him and all his kids in Central Park a few weeks ago and most sites only bought the pics of him playing with Suri. In one pic you can see Bella’s arm and in another Connor’s shoe.
Just to play devil’s advocate here, maybe neither Tom nor Nicole talk about the older kids much because they are teenagers and they have ASKED not to be talked about. Maybe the parents are actually doing the adult thing and respecting their privacy. It’s different when you have a baby because all babies eat, sleep, poop, and puke, so you’re not really giving away their secrets by talking about them. Teenagers are very sensitive about their personal lives (and usually VERY embarrassed about their parents).
I think previous commenters are right on about the audit stuff re: CoS. I also think that Nicole probably revealed very private information about herself and people close to her and she’s protecting THEM more than herself. Tom is a great actor, but he is the psychopathic figurehead of a dangerous mind-control cult, and Nicole is probably terrified of what he undoubtedly threatened to do to her.
Sounds like the situation is very complicated, and very controlled by CoS.
I wonder how involved Nicole was (allowed to be?) with the kids even back when they were married? It’s quite possible they were mostly raised by Tom, his family, and other CoS people, and she wasn’t allowed much influence since she wouldn’t convert.
I’m betting the truth is crazier than anything any of us would even dream up.
@hmmm(the original): …Except to state that NK “willingly” walked away from her children is extremely presumptuous and therefore not worth consideration. We’ve no clue what what stipulations or agreements were made during the divorce.
My final theory. Nicole and Tom had a contracted marriage and it was already agreed that any children resulting from the marriage would be Scientologists therefore Nicole insisted on adoption and purposely never got too attached. Now although she may care about them she is more attached to Sunday and Keith who are unquestionably hers. More than likely Tom has a similar deal with Katie which is why very likely she won’t be leaving.
At the end of the day (Scientology or not) I hope the kids are happy! It does appear that Nicole has ‘forgotten’ Connor and Isabella which is sad but hey she’s the one that has to live with that.
I’m going to put on my REALLY big tinfoil hat here. Several posters have mentioned how much Connor looks like Tom. I agree. Maybe the $cienos got a sperm sample from him (say, to cure the gheys or sterility or shortness or whathaveyou) & whipped up a few test tube babies behind his back. Tom & Nic adpot test tube babies b/c they’re Tom’s kids but now the $cienos can blackmail her b/c she went along with it. Hmmmm? If I don’t post again, I’m right & Xenu has gotten me. LOL
the kids want nothing to do with her.. because they have drunk the koolaid and nicole doesn’t anymore .it is common practice in the Cos if your parent , child relative friend etc chooses to leaves the church you are advised not to talk to them ever especially if they have nothing nice to say about Cos or act in a manner they deem unacceptable. never talk to them again. the one who leaves no longer exists. you are advised strongly to do so not talk to the traitor or whatever they call them .. the unclear one. so nicole left the church and poof ! the kids connor and isabella turned their backs because this is what they have been taught and shown and advised to do their entire lives. They may want to talk to her.. but COS loves to scare the shizz out of people. I know this for a fact it happened to people we know. The mom has not laid eyes on her kid for 15 yrs despite numerous attempts to contact her. she has never met her own grandkid because of Cos how F**C*d up is that!!!
look it up.. there is a documentary on this .. this very same thing happened to man in Australia and in Florida.. and tons of other people are experiencing this. N.K yah sure she is stuck on herself.. but she’s going through it like all the others just in quasi public.
Sure is weird….
Most big celebrity news outlets seem to crop out Connor and Isabelle from family photos. If you check for the same photos, on other sites, you’ll see them there with Suri. So, don’t judge Tom or Nicole sole by posted photos!
I’m sorry. Nicole chose to move away from California. She’s wealthy and could be there half the month and be with her children. She’s the mother. I would have moved heaven on earth to be in California to be near mine when they were still tweens. She said once, before Keith I had no life. I lived through characters. Wow. She was a mother who had half custody at that time. And everytime I turned around she was in another movie after movie. Nicole let those children down in a way. I love her, but it’s obvious she was a depressed individual who probably after a while the kids did want to be in Tom’s home more even before she moved to Nashville. Tom is filled with life and energy and his sister was there with her kids back before and even in the beginning of his relationship with Katie.
#39 remembered the miscarriage before the divorce between Little Crazy Man and Nicole, which was very sudden and dramatic at the time. And it was like 9 3/4 years after they were married, so people were saying they had a 10 year contract and Tom pulled the plug because Nicole was pregnant – and the baby could not be his because he “shoots blanks.”
Fast forward to Suri, who supposedly was cooked up in a petri dish with Katie’s egg and sperm from Crazy Little Man’s cousin Mapother. Personally I don’t think Tom can have kids, but he is trying to keep it a big secret. Everything about him is image over substance.
Little Crazy Man is stupid. For him to say he knows more about mental health than all the psychiatrists that ever lived is just plain dumb. But he has perfected his “smart face.” He puts on this face that looks like he is thinking deep thoughts – but you know he’s thinking about his face, not the conversation.
What do you suppose would “ruin” Nicole if it got out? She’s already an aging, narcissistic, over-botoxed ice queen bitch with a string of terrible movies – but she keeps on trying to hold onto that limelight.
Scientology is behind it all. Why would any sane person have anything to do with this religion and the people involved in it. Individual choice is not part of their belief system.
CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!! Anything for fame and power, huh Tom??!!
For all the people saying Nicole should do more to see her kids – they’re not little babies. They’re teenagers, and they get to decide where they want to be. If she tried to force them to be with her, they’d just get resentful like all other teenagers. It’s not like they wanted their parents to get divorced, and I bet both Nicole and Tom feel guilty about that, guilty enough that they don’t want to force the kids to go along with something that only exists because of that divorce. So they are doing the rational thing and realizing that the kids are old enough to decide for themselves how custody will work out. Seems reasonable to me.
As far as not seeing the older kids out in every family photoe I think that has a lot to do with them being older and having their own interest and things. Suri doesn’t yet have an interest and so she is carted around.
her face is so tight it actually looks painful.
People, the only people controlling your opionions regarding celebrities right now are the paparazzi and tabloids. Pictures of Suri are worth A LOT of money, Conor and Isabella, not so much. Nicole and Keith seem to live a fairly low profile lifestyle and NOT seeing pictures of her kids (even before she and Tom divorced!) has been the rule, not the exception.
Ugh this makes me feel so sorry for her.
@Jenn actually CNN did a series of stories on the practices of Scientology the ostracism of non believing family members is a real thing.
Poor Connor and Isabella. Hopefully when they go to college (sooner for Isabella), they will have some sort of voice in who they see and how often.
If you look at the iPod celeb mixes, I know at least one, if not both of the celeb mixes that Nic did she shared music with and talked about Isabella.
Who knows?
Not that this is related, thank God, but I’ve been checking up on OJ Simpson’s kids post-his incarceration for robbery and basically they have hit the road-“Bu-bye”!
Talk about “poor kids”. Can you imagine being raised by that monster? I wish them some sense of peace and happier lives now that they are no longer under OJ’s thumb. I know Sydney put two and two together pretty early on, so she had the tougher time.
My take is, Scientology forces the kids to take a choice in favor of their dad and Nicole, who really LOVES her kids (ALL of them!), prefers to give up fighting than putting them in the middle of a court battle. I would do the same thing. It’s more important that they have a serene environment rather than she gets to “play parent”. At least, that’s what a loving parent should do, ie preferring the best for the kid.
I think it’s obvious that Nicole wants nothing to do with Conner and Isabelle. I haven’t seen her with them since her wedding. It really comes through in her interviews. She talks about Sunday for days and hardly talks about the older kids. When she does she says things like “I have two grown children with that enormous gratitude that they are healthy and sane and together and are great, great people.” It sounds like she’s talking about strangers not her own kids.
I see Tom with the older kids fairly often. He was just photographed with Conner at a basketball game about a week ago. Also they are older teenagers at 15 and 18 years. They aren’t going to spend a lot of time with their parents like toddlers would.
@Missy: Yes, I do think it’s unfair to blame just one person. I wasn’t responding to the “it takes two to break up a marriage” remark as a way of defending one person or the other. I dislike both Tom and Nicole so I don’t really blame one or the other. My response was more of a general remark because I’m constantly hearing people say some variation on the “it takes two. . . ” remark and I’ve never agreed with it.
It was a general comment and not really directed towards this situation specifically.
@just sayin: That documentary sounds fascinating. Do you happen to remember the name of it?
Tom wouldn’t marry Katie until she converted to Scientology. Perhaps he adopted the children on his own because Nicole refused to submit to the insane cult. Perhaps her miscarriage was due to the relentless pressure that freak was putting on her. I think she went thru Hell with this man and had to heal herself and not deal with him. The kids were raised by his mother and sister anyway. What kind of a scumbag divorces his wife following a miscarriage? I am glad she survived him.
The kids “choice” to live with Tom was predetermined in the marriage contract Tom & Nicole had. She signed off on custody if they got divorced in order for Tom to finance and or star in 3 movies with her/propel her career into what it is now. Also scientology would release all her “secrets” if she fought for custody. Im sure she regrets it now but …
In scientology when parents get divorced, if one leaves scientology, like Nicole did, the kids are not to be in contact with the non scientology parent. They force it on the kids to “forget” their non scientology parent. Those kids didnt/dont have a choice where they live.
I’ve always wondered what Tom has on Nicole that would make her relinquish the kids just like that.
Conner and Isabella are being raised by the cult, not by Tom. It’s tragic. I remember when news first hit about the divorce, they showed Nicole on vacation by herself with the kids. I think that is one of the last times I ever saw the three of them together. And I am sure it is because (as other posters have mentioned) those who leave the cult are to be shunned and never spoken to again. So she’s absolutely right when she says ‘What can you do?’ I am sure she has suffered terribly through all this and little Sunday Roast has been a redemption for her.
@Belle Epoch: lol! Thanks for the laugh regarding Tom and his “smart face”.
I had enough of him and his movies after “The Last Samurai”. An article pointed out that he plays the same character over and over again. Little midget man is always the best at everything and the hero in his movies.
Scientology scares the crap out of me. You honestly have to be in a compromised state of mind to buy into that crap. I mean the man who invented the “religion” was a science fiction writer who wanted to make some real money. It’s just scary how there are thousands or millions around the world who are willing to devote their lives on a scam.
I thought the two older children live with Tom’s mother and sister in a different house from Tom and Katie. So it makes this Tom vs Nicole as the better parent all irrelevant.
Suri has been good for Tom’s damage control. It’s probably why he parades her out every chance he gets. He’s just a loving father with a cute daughter. Not that crazy man who once called people glib. You rarely see Sunday Rose. Someone already mentioned Connor and Isabel aren’t exactly the money shots.
Not sure about Nicole never wanting those adopted kids……. there was an article a very long time ago in a womans magazine here in Australia waaaaaay before the internet, about Nicole, Naomi Watts and Rebecca Rigg (Simon Baker, the Mentalists wife). It seems they were besties and all wanted to name their daughters Isabella. Not long after Nicole married the short one and then adopted Isabella, she got in first…….
After seeing pictures of Katie on her birthday night out I can definately understand why Nicole wanted out! Katie looks 10 years older and so unhappy, she’s probably in it now because she’s afraid of being separated from her daughter (and we all know those crazies will do that)if this is done to celebrities, imagine a normal person who doesn’t have the resources to fight that crazy cult?
Disgraceful. Both she and Keith are filthy rich and could afford to live where ever they wanted. So why don’t they live in the same neighbourhood as Connor and Isabella?
Obviously her career and where she lives is more important to her than her kids. My attitude is that if you’re going to become a parent then you have to be willing to put the kids first. Her selfishness is sickening.
I don’t think I’m crazy BUT I have always thought that Connor looks like Tom Cruise’s biological son, and I wonder if maybe Connor is the result of a Scientology “experiment” with a chosen mother. We have all seen that Connor has been raised in Scientology and is a devout Scientologist, maybe he’s being groomed, (for the “highest” position?); doesn’t that sound like high-achiever Tom?
I refuse to pass any judgment on Nicole Kidman. Things can get really complicated, and it usually has NOTHING to do with how much a parent loves their children.As someone who did not get custody of her children after divorce (I was living overseas, where I went to do my PhD while still married, husband left via a friend of mine,(i.e. an affair), refused to allow children to come overseas to visit me, invoked the international convention which states that ‘children cannot leave their land of birth of birth or habitual domicile without both parents agreement'(he wouldn’t agree)
I was also raised a Jehovah’s Witness and there are many well documented custody cases where children REFUSE to live with the non-JW parent or the parent who has left the marriage and usually the faith at the same time due to fears of ostracisation and shunning (Google if you are interested). Here in New Zealand children can decide at 12 which parent they want to live with and the family court will very rarely go against the child’s wishes. Their has to be a very compelling reason for that to happen (drugs or abuse).
I love my children with all my heart, and they live with me now but they didn’t for a very long 6 years. I am also extremely grateful for the huge amount of support given to me by my University and friends which enabled me to complete my PhD, stay sane and hold up under a very difficult situation…it means I can support myself and my children well. I think the old saying that if you haven’t walked a mile in someone else’s shoes you should STFU *really* applies in this case…(loosely translated of course LOL) Girlfriend has my empathy…
For the people saying Nicole not seeing Conner and Isabella has nothing to do with Scientology you have no idea what these cult are capable of, my cosine is in a cult she was having a rough time in her life and was looking for a good church and her cousin on her father side told her about this “church” and they have taken control over her and her daughter’s entire life. Her boyfriend was good to her was by her side when she was sick in the hospital and bath her when she couldn’t do it herself most man would have left but he stayed by her till the cult told her to brake up with him because they couldn’t control him .She missed work and spends all her time at the “church” they tell her were to buy her clothes and what to wear, who she can and can’t talk to and what to do with her money. She used to come around every holiday and family get together now she only come around when they allow her to and she give more than 75% of her pay to the “church”. Her daughter has health problems and this so called “church “ tells her not to take her mediation because the preacher can heal her and make it so she does not have seizures anymore which was total BS because she still has them. They don’t get home from “church” sometimes tell 3 O’ clock in the morning and then her 16 old daughter has to go to school the next day which is really not good for her health because she not getting enough rest, her doctor has threaten to call CPS and told her if she does not start taking her mediation she could die. The preacher had the church members pay for his luxury anniversary cruise, cars and house and has told the member that he is looking in to buying a house big enough that they can all live there. It scary to think one day I may never see them again and we tried talking to her and dropping hints that she may be in a cult and she get really mad and does not come around or talks to the family for a long time. You can’t talk or resin with people in cult until they see it for themselves, these cults get to you when you’re weak and promise you the world and that they can make all your problems go away as they brain wash you to believe anything they say and do. With the amount of money and power Scientology has I can see the stopping Nicole from seeing Conner and Isabella and turned them against her cult people are crazy and will do anything to keep the power over it members.
Anyone who thinks Scientology has nothing to do with this needs to go to google. Nicole is considered a supressive person and this seems directly out of their playbook. Personally, JMO, but I think that may be why Katie stays. She’s seen it done to Nic’s kids firsthand, so staying is a better option than losing her daughter. It’s really criminal. And those poor kids never look happy to me when they are trotted out for the rare photo op.
Sci kids are actively ‘encouraged’ not to associate with nonsci people, especially anyone who might challenge their beliefs or follow another organized religion. Read between the lines.
Do I think NK really gave two hoots about those kids, which always seemed far more TC’s attempts at image-manipulation than anything else? Not really. Who else remembers his gushing about the white girl child and being criticized for the slant of his remarks, which seemed to prompt him to go out and find a black kid next time round? Who the hell adopts reactively, FFS?
Anyway, they were probably raised by Sci freak nannies while NK pursued her vanity projects so yeah, no surprises there.
Well, I don’t beleive that she hasn’t seen them cause Connor was on set with her almost every day for the film Australia. There were pics of this.
She won’t admit so, but you know it hurts that her kids are Scientologists and see her as a “suppresive”. Documents prove that she requested full physical custody during the divorce.
# 109 Kelly: They weren’t raised by a nanny who was a scientologist, at least not when they were younger. I knew the nanny who worked for them during the divorce. She couldn’t talk much about what went on in the house – per her contract – but what she did say was that she had to work even on holidays (which I find ridiculous, especially considering the kids were about 7 and 9 at the time. What kind of crappy, negligent parents don’t even take care of their own kids on holidays?) and that if Tom got full custody she was going to keep working there because she liked him and that if Nicole got custody she was quitting because Nicole was mean (actually the exact phrase uesd was “She’s a bitch.”) I don’t know if the bitchiness was an on-going thing (because like I said, she couldn’t share very many details) or if it was just while she was going through the divorce (in which case I can understand why she might be in a bad mood, but I don’t understand the need to be bitchy towards your employees.)
My conclusion: they both sound like negligent parents.
I don’t know NK, and am no fan as such, but I know of her family as we have all lived in the same suburb in Sydney for years. Her mum and dad are really nice decent people. I don’t believe for one second she does not love her kids. This is not some weird hollywood chick but a girl from a smart grounded family that would not tolerate marrying a man to be his beard or abandoning children. Just my thoughts. Something BIG went down. And I suspect she was clinically depressed for many years after the divorce and the kids preferred being with Tom’s sister who wasn’t say crying all the time…
@bagladey, that’s a very interesting theory.
I really feel for her adopted kids. It is very true that she is over the moon that is a “mother” now when in fact she was a mother since on her young 20-s when she adopted these kids. Something is wrong mentally with this woman that she needs some mental help so she will accept these kids equally as the biological kid. I think she showed selfishness when she moved to Tennessee and did not stay close to her kids. She wants to look good in front of her biological kid when she grows up and in front of her adopted kids now that they understand what is going on.
its not fair to judge
its clear was unhealthy marriage
she sacrificed to scape and we have no clue how she really feels about loss of her adopted kids. grow up
I don’t know if it’s fair to say – but cult or no, Nicole just doesn’t seem very invested in her older children.
Tom either, for that matter.
Poor kiddos. Every child should be a wanted child.
If she wanted to see her children, she never should have moved across the country. A parent who wants to see his or her children does not move to a different city or state from their primary residence, especially if the parent is wealthy and can decide where they want to move.
Tom Cruise and Scientology could not have prevented her from living in Los Angeles.
This tabloid story has been denied by Nicole’s rep according to Access Hollywood
@kg
I am not judging. Do you think that if she went to Court she would have not have gotten visitation rights and have more time with her kids? Tell me of any case that people who went to court or celebrities were not awarded visitation rights, unless the parent is declared not to be fit for various reasons. What I am saying is that as a mother if she wanted to see her kids more often she should have stayed in LA where the kids are, and gone to Court to ask for visitation rights if Tom refused to give those. The court will not care for rules of scientology and will annul and void any contracts entered by Tom and Nicole at the expense of children. I am sure you know that. Nicole is promoting Rabbit Hole which movie has a child loss theme and she does not want to look bad when in real life she abandoned her own kids. That is simple. It will be a slap in the face of these children and other children out there who are abandoned by their parents if she wins any thing for the role in this movie.
Sounds like some of you need to read the unauthorized biography of Tom. It is called “Tom Cruise”, written by Andrew Morton.
Tom, his life and his decisions are all about Scientology. Nichole was indeed pregnant when he left her. She suffered a miscarriage, kept tissue and had it DNA tested. It was Tom’s child.
Nichole’s father is a psychologist. Scientologists hate all psychiatrists and psychologists. The Scientologists were not happy about Tom’s relationship with Nichole due to this, but Tom is a big “catch” for their “church” so they put up with her.
You can google “Ex-scientologist” and come up with any number of legitimate websites maintained by former member of the Co$. They tell all about what it’s like to be in and out of the cult.
Once a person leaves the cult, they are shunned by friends and family.
Kids tend to sense which parent loves them without reserve, so they trust and choose that parent.
I have seen a few interviews when Tom speaks of the kids and as soon as he begins talking about them the widest grin appears on his face, the grin of a proud Poppa.
There are many photos of Tom teaching Connor to fly, to ride bikes and at Lakers games and Baseball games to realize that Tom is mother and father to those kids.
this is one story i would love to read about. maybe nicole will write a autobiography one day. until then we will never know the real reason. i do know for a fact that, if you live in nashville, there is NO paparazzi, so if isabella and connor do visit, no one will know. and nicole has said in so many words that she hardly ever sees them. and suri is constantly photographed w/tom & katie, which i think is cuz suri cannot be by herself like the other kids and tom and katie do seem to be very hands on parents. maybe they choose to not get photographed. connor was in the movie 7 pounds for 2 seconds and has been photographed with tom at daytona 500 one year. anyway, i hate what i read about scientology and the cult that it is, but i dont think a judge would rule on parenting because of a religion. it had to be an agreement between the 2 that was sealed to the public.
Was Nicole Kidman assaulted with drugs, giving her brain damage?