Nicole Kidman has ruffled a few fan feathers after she marked Mother’s Day with a gushing Instagram post about two of her four children.
The post in question was a throwback photo with her two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15, whom she shares with ex-husband, Keith Urban.
In the image — where the trio are surrounded by stunning desert scenery — the Oscar winner is seen piggybacking one of the girls, while she bends down to talk to the other.
Nicole then captioned the post: ‘To my beautiful girls, the greatest joy is being your mother. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the world.’
While innocent enough on the surface, many fans were quick to call out the actress for failing to include her two older children, Bella, 33, and Connor, 31.
The 58-year-old adopted the pair in 1993 and 1995 respectively, with her then-husband, Tom Cruise.
After their divorce in 2001, reports state that Bella and Connor grew up primarily with their father. They also opted to stay in Los Angeles with Tom while Nicole split her time between the US and Australia, where she’s from.
After posting the photo, plenty of Nicole’s 10.9 million followers flocked to the comment section.
Though many saw the positive side, wishing Nicole a happy Mother’s Day, others criticised her for omitting the older kids.
‘What about your adopted kids?’ one person penned, while another said: ‘What about the other 2??? C’mon, Nicole.’
‘What about your 2 older kids??’ a third asked, as a fourth echoed: ‘I thought you had 4 kids!’
However, others were quick to defend, reminding fans that both Bella and Connor have ‘made it very clear they do not want to be mentioned on public posts at all’.
‘She is simply respecting their wishes,’ a fan added.
Who are Nicole Kidman’s older kids?
In 2021, Nicole told Marie Claire Australia that she had always wanted a big family.
‘I would’ve loved 10 kids. I love mothering, I love kids. They’re quirky, funny and unfiltered. And then you get to see them grow and send them on their way.’
In 2012, Nicole also quipped that, though she ‘got married really fast and really young,’ she doesn’t regret anything.
‘It got me Bella and Connor and I did have a fantastic marriage for a long period,’ she said.
Bella (whose real name is Isabella) was welcomed into the Kidman-Cruise household shortly after her birth in 1993.
However, when Nicole and Tom split, Bella mostly grew up with her father and stayed out of the spotlight.
Bella is a graphic designer who graduated from the Delmar Academy of Make-up and Hair in West London.
She married her husband, British IT consultant Max Parker, in 2015. Neither Nicole nor Tom attended, but it was later reported that Bella’s father had helped pay for the nuptials.
A source also told People at the time that Nicole was ‘very happy for Bella.’
Connor was born in 1995 and was adopted shortly after. The now 31-year-old didn’t mind the spotlight as much as his sister, as he briefly dabbled in acting like his famous parents.
In 2008, Connor starred in Seven Pounds alongside Will Smith, before bagging a role in the 2012 action film Red Dawn.
Connor also tried his hand at music, releasing his debut single in 2013.
These days, Connor seems to have turned his back on the showbiz world. In 2018, People reported that he lives in a Scientology community in Florida and his ‘life is deep-sea fishing.’
The outlet also said that Connor ‘has a lot of friends and seems very well-liked.’
Due to their father’s influence, Bella and Connor are said to have been raised in the Church of Scientology.
Tom has been a Scientologist for 40 years, having been introduced to the religion in 1986 by his first wife, Mimi Rogers.
Since joining at age 24, the Mission: Impossible star has become the religion’s most prominent member.
For years, Tom has strongly defended the church, calling it a ‘beautiful religion’ and crediting it with his personal success.
Bella has been especially vocal about Scientology, too. In 2019, she opened up in a letter shared with church members.
Writing a testimonial about her work as an auditor within the church (these are trained ministers or staff members), she described the training as ‘exactly what I needed.’
Bella also ‘thanked [her] Dad for everything.’
What has Nicole said about Bella and Connor’s Scientology beliefs?
In 2008, seven years after Nicole and Tom split, the actress told Elle that their children were ‘amidst a lot of love.’
She said of Bella and Connor: ‘They are generous, kind and hardworking. And these are traits that I love to see in my children.’
Speaking to Who magazine in 2018 about their involvement in Scientology, she said: ‘I’m very private about all that. I have to protect all those relationships.
‘I know 150 per cent that I would give up my life for my children because it’s what my purpose is.
‘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.’
In 2019, she also told The Sun that ‘motherhood is about the journey.’
‘There are going to be incredible peaks and valleys, whether you are an adopting mother or a birth mother,’ she said. ‘What a child needs is love.’
Previous Mother’s Day backlash
This isn’t the first time Nicole has refrained from mentioning Bella and Connor on Mother’s Day, though.
Last year, she shared previously unseen photos of Sunday and Faith, alongside her late mother, Janelle Ann, who died in 2024, aged 84.
The image was captioned with: ‘My mother and my daughters in Uluru, beautiful memories…always [pink heart emoji] Happy Mother’s Day.’
And, while many fans reacted the same way as this year, Bella appeared to clap back at those criticising her mum by liking the post.
Bella, who is now based in London with her husband, has also liked many of her mother’s posts over the years, and still follows her on Instagram.