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Sophie Turner is suing Joe Jonas for “the immediate return of children wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained” amid the couple’s separation and impending divorce.
According to documents filed in a Manhattan court Thursday and obtained by Page Six, Turner requests the couple’s two daughters, 3-year-old Willa and the 1-year-old identified in their divorce filings as D., be taken immediately to Turner’s native England. The Game of Thrones actor also stated that she and Jonas had planned to make England their “forever home” and alleges that Jonas has been withholding the children’s passports.
“The Father has possession of the children’s passports,” the documents claim. “He refuses to return the passports to the Mother and refuses to send the children home to England with the Mother.”
In a statement to Vanity Fair, Jonas’s representatives called the situation “an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending” and refuted some of Turner’s claims.
In her lawsuit, Turner claimed that over Christmas 2022, she and Jonas had made the decision to move to England permanently, and that “the parties were both excited for the family’s move.” According to her filing, the big move took place on April 10, 2023.
While the joint statement Turner and Jonas released earlier this month called their divorce a “united decision,” the new filing reveals the collapse of the couple’s marriage “happened very suddenly” after an argument on August 15, 2023 (which is also Jonas’s birthday). It also claims that though Jonas filed for divorce on or about September 1, citing “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,” Turner found out on September 5 “through the media.”
Jonas’s initial court filing to dissolve the marriage, per People, stated that the children have been “residing with their father in Miami and other locations throughout the United States” over the past several months and that Jonas would seek joint custody of the children, and Turner’s new filing states that the “wrongful retention” of the children began Wednesday, September 20. In the paperwork, Turner claims that she agreed “with hesitation” to allow the children to travel with Jonas as he toured with the Jonas Brothers on their current tour, titled THE TOUR, while she filmed in England.
“The children would then at least be able to spend some time during the day with one of their parents until the Mother finished her filming commitments,” according to the document, calling the tour travel a “temporary arrangement.”
Turner’s court docs filed Thursday claim that she and Jonas met two weeks after he filed for divorce to discuss proceedings, where Turner “reiterated” the plan to have the children live in England. On September 19, according to the filing, Jonas’s attorney stated that Jonas did not intend to move the children, and would not give Turner their passports.
Turner, as claimed in the filing, plans to file a similar suit in the UK.
In response to Turner’s filing, Jonas’s representatives shared a lengthy statement with Vanity Fair, refuting some of Turner’s claims.
“After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case. Sophie was aware that Joe was going to file for divorce. The Florida Court has already entered an order that restricts both parents from relocating the children. Sophie was served with this order on September 6, 2023, more than two weeks ago.
Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kids. They have been with her since that meeting. Joe’s impression of the meeting was that they had reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.
Less than 24 hours later, Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK. Thereafter, she demanded via this filing that Joe hand over the children’s passports so that she could take them out of the country immediately. If he complies, Joe will be in violation of the Florida Court order.
Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also okay with the kids being raised both in the US and the UK. The children were born in the US and have spent the vast majority of their lives in the US. They are American citizens.
This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending. When language like “abduction” is used, it is misleading at best, and a serious abuse of the legal system at worst. The children were not abducted. After being in Joe’s care for the past three months at the agreement of both parties, the children are currently with their mother. Sophie is making this claim only to move the divorce proceedings to the UK and to remove the children from the US permanently.
Joe has already disavowed any and all statements purportedly made on his behalf that were disparaging of Sophie. They were made without his approval and are not consistent with his views. His wish is that Sophie reconsider her harsh legal position and move forward in a more constructive and private manner. His only concern is the well-being of his children.”
Originally published in Vanityfair.com
