When Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman divorced in 2001, the two children they adopted — Connor and Isabella Cruise — opted to live with their father full-time in California. In the time since, Nicole’s rarely spoken of her relationship with the children. Adding to public intrigue, she was last photographed with them in 2007, one year before welcoming her first of two daughters with Keith Urban. So, does she keep in touch with Connor and Bella?
In a new interview with Australia’s Women’s Weekly, Nicole said she’s a proud mom of her oldest children.
“They are generous, kind and hardworking,” she said specifically of Connor, 19, and Bella, 21. “And these are traits that I love to see in my children.”
Although her singular comment about Connor and Isabella wasn’t too telling, Nicole’s revealed other details about their relationship through the years…
In 2007, Nicole told Marie Claire the children preferred to live in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, she has homes in Nashville and Australia, which limits the amount of time she gets to spend with them. Still, she hoped to influence their lives by setting a positive example.
“My daughter and son, their life is molded by the way I live,” she said. “If I wasn’t willing to take on that responsibility, I shouldn’t have adopted them.”
Three years later, she lamented her long-distance relationship with them.
“They live with Tom, which was their choice,” she told Hello!, Us Weekly reported. “I’d love them to live with us, but what can you do?”
Besides locale preferences, Connor and Isabella also agree with their father when it comes to religion. When Nicole and Tom separated, she reportedly said she didn’t want the children to be raised as Scientologists. He apparently won out, as Connor and Isabella continue to practice the religion. Some sources say this is a primary wedge in their relationship, but Nicole is adamant that’s inaccurate.
“I’ve chosen not to speak publicly about Scientology,” she told Vanity Fair in 2013. “I have two children who are Scientologists — Connor and Isabella — and I utterly respect their beliefs.”
Now that he is an adult, Connor’s spoken about his relationship with his mom.
“I love my mum,” Connor, who works as a DJ, told Australia’s Woman’s Day in March. “I don’t care what people say, I know that me and Mum are solid. I love her a lot. My family means everything. Yeah, I love my music, but the family comes before everything else.”
Isabella hasn’t made any similar comments about her relationship with Nicole. In March, the Academy Award-winning actress sparked speculation that there’s a greater rift between the mother and daughter than with Connor when she referred to her older child with Keith Urban as her “oldest daughter.”
