Sophie Turner Sues Joe Jonas, Demands ‘Immediate Return’ of Couple’s Children

Gil Kaufman
·4 min read
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The divorce proceedings between Jonas Brothers member Joe Jonas and estranged wife Sophie Turner took a dramatic turn on Thursday (Sept. 21) when the former Game of Thrones actress filed a lawsuit in Manhattan demanding the return of the couple’s two minor daughters to her native England.

The Messenger was first to report the news that Turner’s suit — which Billboard has reviewed — requested the “immediate return of children wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained.” The legal filing claims the “wrongful retention” began on Wednesday (Sept. 20). The suit also notes that Turner, 27, and Jonas, 34, agreed last Christmas that despite having a “peripatetic lifestyle” due to their careers in entertainment, their “forever home” would be in England and that they would start looking for schools for eldest daughter, Willa, 3. The Turner filing lists more than a dozen rental properties the couple lived in between September 2022 and April 2023, including several in New York and London, as well as ones in Italy, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas.

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Both children have dual citizenship in the U.K. and U.S., and Turner’s suit claims that the couple found a “beautiful country property” in Henley on Thames in England during a nearly eight-month search for a U.K. residence, and “both agreed they would purchase the home for their permanent residence” with plans to move into their new house in December in time for the Christmas holidays.

The lawsuit claims the couple entered a contract to sell their Miami home on April 16 after relocating to England a week earlier, around the time when Turner began filming the mini-series Joan and Jonas launched the Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour trek with brothers Nick and Kevin. It also states that Jonas and Turner agreed “with hesitation” that Willa and their second daughter, born in June 2022 (whose name has not been revealed yet), would travel on tour with the singer (and the family’s nanny) because he had more free time during the day than the actress, but that the arrangement was only “temporary.”

“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,” the document claims.

Jonas filed a petition for the dissolution of the marriage on Sept. 5, stating that that “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,” following what Turner described in her lawsuit as an argument on the singer’s birthday on Aug. 15. The day after Jonas’ filing, the couple released a joint statement on their respective social media accounts confirming the split.

“After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage,” their statement read. “There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”

Turner’s suit also claims she found out about the divorce “through the media” on Sept. 5, and she has yet to respond to his filing. Two weeks later, the couple reportedly met up to discuss the separation plans, at which point Turner allegedly “reiterated” her desire to have the children move to England.

Jonas’ Florida divorce filing stated that the children had been living with him in Miami and other U.S. locations, but that “it is in the best interests of the minor children that the parties have shared parental responsibility.”

However, Turner claims in her filing that “the Father has possession of the children’s passports… he refuses to return the passports to the Mother and refuses to send the children home to England with the Mother.” According to her suit, she filed her action after Jonas’ attorney said the singer would not return the passports or consent to the move on Sept. 19. “The Father has prevented the children’s return to England, which is a breach of the Mother’s rights of custody under English law, England being the children’s habitual residence,” reads the Turner filing.

In a statement to Billboard, a representative for Jonas denied the actress’ allegations, including that she learned about his divorce filing via the media, and said that the former couple had met Sunday in New York, where the rep said they agreed to “work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.”

“Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also OK with the kids being raised both in the U.S. and the U.K.,” the statement continued. “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending.”

“His wish is that Sophie reconsider her … legal position and move forward in a more constructive and private manner. His only concern is the well-being of the children.”

Reps for Turner have not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

Turner and Jonas began dating in 2016 and married in a low-key ceremony in Las Vegas in May 2019, followed by a lavish wedding at the Chateau de Tourreau in the south of France in June of that year.

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