Nicole Kidman Issues Rare Statement on Her Children’s Affiliation With Scientology

Marriages end, but parenthood is forever. And Nicole Kidman takes that responsibility seriously. After marrying Tom Cruise and adopting two children with him, Connor and Isabella, who is sometimes called Bella, Kidman left both her marriage and the church of Scientology, which Cruise was an increasingly visible part of, in 2001. Though Kidman was never part of the church herself, it’s long been rumored that Scientology played an important part in the couple’s breakup, and that Connor and Bella, now in their 20s, don’t have much contact with Kidman because of the group’s strict rules. (For what it’s worth, they haven’t been seen with Cruise in a while, either.)

Now, Kidman, who is raising her two youngest daughters with her husband, Keith Urban, has issued a rare comment on her relationship with her estranged children. In an interview with the Australian outlet Who, Kidman said, “I’m very private about all that. I have to protect all those relationships. I know 150 percent that I would give up my life for my children because it’s what my purpose is.”

As for their religious affiliations, Kidman is honest and mature: “They are adults,” she said. “They are able to make their own decisions. They have made choices to be Scientologists and, as a mother, it’s my job to love them.” She wants to be “an example of…tolerance” to all her children, stating unequivocally, “no matter what your child does, the child has love and the child has to know there is available love and I’m open here.” Is that a coded invitation to a family reunion?

Kidman continues, “That’s our job as a parent, to always offer unconditional love.”

Related: Nicole Kidman Shares Video Proof That She Can Sing After a Duet With Her Husband, Keith Urban