'Exhausted' Kylie heads home to mum

Kylie Minogue has returned to Australia suffering from nervous exhaustion.

The pop star has gone home to be with her parents after a year of chart-topping hits, a gruelling tour and a turbulent love life.

While there is speculation that the 34-year-old may be on the brink of burning out, her former boyfriend James Gooding said she had decided to take a "well-earned break" after a tiring year.

"She is doing absolutely nothing for six months, which is great for her," Gooding said. "She's not bringing out a new album until the end of 2003."

There are reports that Kylie's worried mother Carol asked her to cancel her commitments and return to Australia in order to rest.

She is now thought to be spending a month in an isolated lodge in Kimberley in Western Australia, immersing herself in spiritual Aboriginal teachings.

Mobile phones, televisions and any other form of contact with the outside world are thought to be avoided at the lodge, where Kylie and her mother are thought to be staying.

Whether the breakdown of her relationship with Gooding, 26, played a part in Kylie's decision to return home is not known.

The couple split in May after two turbulent years together. But since then, they have appeared to be inseparable, despite Gooding being linked to a string of other women, including model Sophie Dahl.

In July, Kylie cancelled a US tour, saying she wished to spend more time with Gooding, while only last month it was reported that she wanted to have a baby and settle down with him. But after months of speculation and contradictory statements, it appears the relationship has run its course. Last week, Gooding said: "We have been split for a while. It's over and there's no going back."

Kylie is not the first pop star to to take a career break. Last month, it emerged that Britney Spears was taking six months off from her relentless schedule because she was exhausted.