“GIVE ME BACK MY CHILDREN,” — Cat, Tom Phillips’ ex-wife, lays out her plan to win custody after being blocked by police, insisting she is “a good mother.”
Right now, Cat’s three young children are under government care, receiving support to help them adjust and reintegrate into a safe environment. For Cat, their mother, this is both a relief and a source of endless sorrow.
While some outsiders have tried to paint Tom Phillips as a kind of “folk hero” in the style of Man Alone, Cat finds such claims deeply hurtful. Online, she has faced cruel remarks from strangers praising Phillips as if he were “protecting” his children — when in her eyes, it was nothing short of abuse.
“I was truly stunned. These people — they don’t know Thomas. None of them have ever met the kids. All of their words are empty talk,” Cat told RNZ’s Mihi Forbes in October 2024.
For her, the children have always been the only priority:
“They are my world, the reason I exist — and my only real job in life is being their mother.
I failed them terribly. I didn’t fight hard enough. I didn’t make enough noise… I should have done more.”
On social media, Cat once shared a photo of herself with her three missing children — Jayda, Maverick, and Ember — taken during a park visit in November 2021, just before their father, Tom, took them away. Today, that photo stands as a painful reminder of a family torn apart and a mother’s desperate longing for reunion.
Her two older daughters, the siblings of the missing children, have expressed their admiration for their mother’s courage:
“It takes incredible bravery to speak out, especially when so many still support Tom and the long-standing abuse he inflicted. Nobody can truly imagine the pain our mother has endured.”
Now, Cat is not only speaking out — she is laying out a plan to win back custody of her children. With legal support, the backing of her family, and a plea for compassion from the community, she is determined to bring them home.
“Today I stand before everyone, begging for help to bring my children back.”
For Cat, this battle is not just a legal case. It is a fight to reclaim her children’s hearts, their peace, and the childhood that was stolen from them.
