Amber- How do we know that Tom sets the rules for the contact with the kids? First of all, keep in mind that a lot of what we hear on the Internet and other places about Scientology is either not true or is a big exageration (people who are Scientologists have commented here in the past, such as when Katie was pregnant and the whole “silent birth” debate was going, and set the rest of us straight!).

Here are just two examples: According to what you read on the Internet, Scientologist’s insist on feeding their babies a type of barely water formula. Yet Katie breastfeed Suri for at least a few months (Tom mentioned it, and we saw poor Katie with part of her nursing bra unhooked shortly after Suri was born! Katie was wearing a low-necked shirt, which is why her nursing bra was partly visable).

Also, Scientologists supposedly don’t celebrate Christmas, yet we’ve seen plenty of evidence that the Cruise’s do, and some Scientoligists who have posted here have explained that some Scientologists celebrate it and some don’t.

Also, Nicole has pretty much made it clear that it’s the KIDS’ decision to live in LA (recently, for example, she said that LA is much more of a “draw” for them than Nashville, and she hopes that someday they’ll want to spend more time in Nashville), NOT Tom’s!

For another thing, I have never once heard Tom speak ill of Nicole (except maybe when they first got divorced. Nicole had a miscarriage as the marriage was ending and there are rumors that he tried to insist he wasn’t the father of that baby. I have yet to read that in a reputable source, though).

In fact, when he was on Oprah this year, he said that Nicole has NOT been forced out of Bella and Connor’s lives and that he (Tom) and Nicole are on friendly terms(Nicole has indicated this recently as well).

I also think he HAS said Nicole’s a good mom. At any rate, he has never once said she’s a horrible mom or that she shouldn’t see her kids or anything like that.

Finally, even if Tom DID tried to control when Nicole could see Bella and Connor, Nicole could take him to court and change that.

Remember, in the Scientology world,if you are not with them then you are against them. They are very strict about non contact with parents and family members who do not choose to be involved with Scientology. So whatever contact Nicole has with her kids, it’ Tom’s rules.
It would be nice to hear Tom honestly acknowledge Nicole as a good and loving mom instead of freezing her out and making her feel judged. I feel for Nicole. It must be so hard.

This is exactly how a mom would describe her teens. They open up to you and as a parent you learn about all types of “Cool” things.
I love how Nicole shares this with her kids.

There is so much the public will never know when it comes to Nicole’s relationship with her oldest two children.
On one hand, Nicole gives the impression that she is very much involved in the life of her children but on the on the other hand, those children live primarily with Tom, they’re being raised as Scientolgist and according to Katie they call her “mom”. In addition, Nicole made a conscious decision to build a home for herself in Nashville knowing full well that if she lived in CA, she would have the opportunity to spend substantially more time with them and yet she chose to create more distance between them.
I would never voluntarily choose to live some place far away from my children. I do not know how Nicole deals with being away from her children so much.

Also, for all we know, Nicole talks on the phone with Bella and Connor a lot.

Sheri- I think the thing about Bella feeling she doesn’t get enough attention from her mom was probably just a tabloid rumor.

Also, Lola, they don’t live with Tom’s sister. They live with their father (which would be TOM), step-mother, and one of their baby sisters. Tom’s sister happens to live with the family, as does Tom’s mother, so they, from what I’ve heard, look after Bella and Connor while Tom and Katie are away (and really, Tom’s mom and sister probably don’t do THAT much “looking after” Connor and Bella, especially Bella. Conner and Bella, especially Bella, are at an age now where they can mostly take care of themselves).

missmeghan- ITA! In fact, some of Nicole’s recent comments seem to confirm the fact that she sees Bella and Connor more than publically known. She mentioned that a photo of Bella holding Sunday is one of her favorites, and that, in the first few weeks after Sunday’s birth, she just wanted to be in the “bubble” of her, Keith, Sunday, Bella, and Connor.

Therefore, it sounds like they DID go to Nashville shortly after Sunday’s birth to meet their new sister. She also said, when she attened the 15th Annual Women In Hollywood Tribute that Keith and Bella split “baby-sitting” duties with Sunday so that she (Nicole) could attend the event (and BTW, I suspect the “baby-sitting” part was in reference to Bella, NOT Keith! Of course Keith wasn’t baby-sitting his own child! He was just being a father to her!).

Thank you, “T”, for sticking up for me I’m not being judgmental in my former comment – it’s just that I’ve heard in interviews that Bella, in particular, feels like she doesn’t get enough of her mother’s attention. I just know, as a mother, that I would never, ever be separated from my children like their living situation is … but, as I said before, we don’t know what’s going on. I think we should all feel safe to express our opinions without being slammed for it

For all the years Nicole was married to Tom and obviously with her children all the time, I don’t recall any published photos of them.

It’s apparent that Nicole prefers that, and the kids do too.

Tom is the one who forced them into the limelight with all his drama of the past couple of years.

She lives in Nashville for gods sake. Not really the paparazzi capital.

I agree with Sheri…I’m fond of Nicole as an actress but I also found it strange that I always see them in photos with Tom. So that naturally made me wonder why they would suddenly become camera shy with Nicole if that were the case…this is the first article quote that I’ve read that she mentions them. Although I’ll admit I’ve only read the small quotes.

Just my humble opinion (not right not wrong)