Nicole’s concerns for Connor are said to have recently escalated when Florida was plunged into a state of emergency over a leaking radioactive phosphate fertiliser pond in the Tampa Bay area – a crisis that is only expected to intensify.
“For Nicole, that was the last straw,” says an insider close to the Oscar winner. “Florida has a bit of a wild reputation, but Connor loves it there and runs a fishing charter and meat-smoking business in the area. However, Nicole doesn’t want him living, swimming, fishing and eating in a radioactive dump – she’s hoping to convince him to start over and move to Oz.”
According to the insider, Nicole is adamant she can help Connor start a new life in Australia, where she relocated with her second husband, Keith Urban, and two children Sunday Rose, 12, and Faith Margaret, 10, during the pandemic last year.
“It might be a case of wishful thinking, but she knows he would love the beaches and the people, and he could easily continue his hospitality work there,” explains the source, noting Connor has always referred to Australia as his “home away from home”.
Following her divorce from Tom, Nicole also left Scientology and was considered a “Suppressive Person” by the church, who encouraged devoted members to “disconnect” from her.
Despite this, Connor and Bella, 28, who now lives in London, maintained a relationship with their mother and even attended Nicole’s 2006 wedding to Keith. However, eventually things became strained.
Following a visit to Queensland in 2014, Connor revealed that regardless of their separation, he loves his mother.
“I don’t care what people say, I know that me and Mum are solid. I love her a lot,” he gushed. My family means everything … family comes before everything else.”
In 2018, Nicole broke her silence about her two children, telling media, “They are adults. 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.”
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