People are saying that Nicole Kidman hasn’t seen her kids in ages while crazy Tom Cruise is jetting all over the world, but still manages to go to Conner and Isabella’s sports matches.
Star thinks it has to do with Tom’s controlling nature, but it sounds to us like Nicole Kidman just doesn’t care:
Proud papa Tom Cruise, 43, and stepmom-to-be Katie Holmes, 27, are regularly spotted making out in the stands at Connor’s baseball games and Isabella’s soccer matches, the kids’ formerly ubiquitous mom seems conspicuously MIA. Although she has clearly spent some time with the children since then  and even introduced them to her groom-to-be, Keith, 38, over a casual, gigglefilled dinner at the Hotel Bel-Air in L.A. on Dec. 20  it seems that Nicole just isn’t as present in her kids’ lives as she was before.’
A source claims, “Nicole probably isn’t seeing as much of the kids as she’d like to, but her hands are tied.”
“She’s juggling traveling from movie sets to Nashville and Australia to be with her family. If she wants to see the kids, she has to come to L.A. and deal with Tom.”
Also, Kidman’s spokesperson told Star the actress avoids being photographed with her children for “privacy reasons”.
But reports suggest that it may be Tom Cruise that is preventing his ex-wife from spending time with them.
A source says, “It’s not like Tom’s actively keeping her out of their children’s lives, but it’s in his nature to control things.”
“He micromanages their schedule  sports, home-schooling, Scientology studies.”
The source continues, “I think she knew when she and Tom divorced that she’d lose a certain amount of control over her kids’ lives.”
“But she deserves to play a bigger role. Maybe the best she can hope for is now that they’re getting older, they’ll start to make their own decisions.”
Obviously the source is a friend of Nicole’s and is making excuses for her absence from their lives. We aren’t a fan of Tom, but couldn’t Nicole make more of an effort to see her children?
It came out in January that a former nanny of Nicole and Tom said that Nicole was never around at all.
Tom may be a crazy cult spokesperson, but at least he’s there for his kids.
Here are Tom and Katie in Aberdeen, WA for a sort-of premiere for MI3.
Pictures [via]
I don’t know what’s going on there but Tom only recently has become such a visible Dad.. specifically since Katie entered his life. I haven’t seen him a lot with his kids before that and Nicole was certainly more around and photographed with her kids before Katie came along. I think that Tom is using the kids for their PR value–I can’t think of a single teen or pre-teen who would like to watch his father make out with his pregnant girlfriend at his or her schools or sports events! I also suspect that, since kids are schooled and raised as Scientologists, they learned or were told to detach themselves from their mother who is a Catholic. They may have expressed their preference for Tom at this point. Nicole said something about hoping that the kids will make their own choices when they’re allowed to do it and that she’ll be loved by them, eventually. Sounded to me like she sort of gave up on them for the time being, when they’re in their father’s sphere of influence. I think it’s a risky strategy, but if she’s good about keeping in touch with them, she might eventually win them back. I just read an interview with Nicole during which her cell rang and she said “oh, that must be one of my kids.. that’s what the cell phones are for, after all” and it turned out it was not, which made me feel bad for her. Judging my Tom’s outbursts and obvious control issues, he can’t be an easy ex. I only wish Nicole wrote a tell-all account of their relationship. That would be a guranteed bestseller.
Millie this is a good balanced viewpoint and I should not have been so quick to take Tom’s side on this one. Maybe she really is getting cut off from her kids now that Tom is taking charge of their indoctrination into Scientology. You’re right that it’s probably annoying to them that Tom and Katie make out and bring all the paparrazi to their sports games. I think I was too influenced by that story about the nanny saying Nicole wasn’t around.
Also, there’s no way she’ll write a tell-all book about Tom because she’ll have to talk about the Scientologists and she has a healthy fear of them.
omg.. I wish you had an “edit” function.. only now I see my horrible spelling! I would be afraid too, if I were Nicole, btw. Apparently, she gets a call from his lawyers every time there is gossip which claims that she said something unflattering about him. Her flack is usually on the case within 24 hours denying it, but she still gets the call. Awful!
If you login through typepad you will be able to publish right away. You still can’t edit, though. That is crazy that she gets contacted by the lawyers every time. Seems like the gossip rags make up a lot of quotes from her too.
“Tom may be a crazy cult spokesperson, but at least he’s there for his kids.” YEAH, he’s there, making out in front of his kids, and all their friends, at an event that’s supposed to be about them, not trying to prove to the free world that your relationship is “real” He’s nothing but a media whore NOT a good father