Those Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner Rumors Could Be a Legal Tactic but a Celeb Divorce Lawyer Told Us Why It Won’t Work

Up until August, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were one of Hollywood’s most loving and low-key couples, but now they have found themselves wrapped up in a PR nightmare amid the many rumors surrounding their divorce.

Jonas, in particular, has faced the wrath of the internet after the early breadcrumbs about their split painted Turner as an absent mom and party-lover while he was depicted as a the sole caregiver of their two children.

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In one of the earliest reports about the singer’s impending divorce filing, a source told TMZ that Jonas, 34, was caring for their daughters “pretty much all of the time” on tour with the Jonas brothers while Turner, 27, was working in the UK. Another TMZ report blamed the Game of Thrones star’s lifestyle: “She likes to party; he likes to stay at home.” Strategically placed paparazzi soon caught Jonas out to lunch with the couple’s children while Turner continued to evade the public.

Whether Jonas was directly responsible for any of these claims, we don’t know, (he insists he wasn’t) but if a PR team did have a plan to tarnish Turner’s name, it hasn’t worked. The alleged smear campaign has invoked many a thoughtful tweet and think-piece about mom-shaming and misogyny — all of which defend Turner.

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However, the goal this alleged smear campaign may not have been to publicly take Turner down. Instead, it could be part of a wider tactic to strengthen Jonas’s reputation as a father ahead of what looks to be a bitter divorce and custody battle. Turner has, before the spliy, expressed a desire to move her children back to the UK so Jonas may have a complicated custody pursuit on his hands.

Jonas officially filed for divorce from Turner on September 5 after four years of marriage. The filing stated that “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.” Jonas is seeking joint custody of their daughters.

We spoke to Ashley M. Silberfeld, a Partner in the Matrimonial and Family Law practice at Blank Rome LLP, a group of 35+ nationally recognized lawyers who regularly advise A-List celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals on prenups, divorces, child custody and other parallel matters.

Silberfeld told us that any of Jonas and Turner’s movements in the aftermath of their divorce filing “could be considered a legal tactic.” So, could all of these rumors be an attempt to secure custody or prevent Turner from moving their kids out of the US?

“One could speculate this was as much about Joe wanting to bolster his image as a dad,” Silberfeld told SheKnows. “Another could speculate that he’s trying to disparage Sophie. Whenever parents are in a contentious relationship, both parties are under a microscope, and whatever they do/don’t do is fuel for criticism.”

However, Silberfeld notes that parents have every right to travel, work and be away from their children. “That doesn’t make them bad parents or mean they lose custody or can’t move with the children,” she says. Silberfeld practices in California and tells us that, there, “a court is required to look at all relevant factors to determine what is in the children’s best interest.”

“One of those factors is, over the long term — not just a few weeks, here and there — with whom do the kids spend their time. If the parties are sharing custody equally — it’s 50-50, generally speaking in California — move away cases are very, very difficult for courts to resolve.”

As for the supposed PR tactics at play, Silberfeld has her doubts about whether any publicity campaign can alter the outcome of a divorce or custody case. “I don’t subscribe to that strategy,” she says. “In my experience, judges aren’t focused on what’s in the press. They focus on the evidence presented to them, which is what they’re supposed to do.”

Before you go, click here for all the celebrity splits and divorces we never saw coming.

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