Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas‘ divorce is seemingly getting messier.
The actress, 27, drew up her own set of legal documents suing Jonas, 34, weeks after he filed to end their four-year marriage. According to the New York Post, Turner is requesting that the pair’s two daughters return to the U.K. She claims the children are being wrongfully detained in New York City.
Turner claims in her documents that the “wrongful retention” began on Wednesday, September 20, alleging that she and Jonas agreed in December 2022 that they would make England their “forever home” and begin looking for schools there for their eldest daughter. “The parties were both excited for the family’s move to England,” reads the filing, per Page Six.
The duo purchased a home in the English countryside, officially relocating in April. Turner agreed “with hesitation” to have their kids travel with Jonas while he’s on tour with the Jonas Brothers, which provided more free time than her filming schedule for the show Joan. The arrangement was a “temporary arrangement,” Turner claims.
Us Weekly confirmed Jonas’ initial filing on September 5 shortly after reports surfaced that he and Turner were headed for divorce. Jonas referred to the pair’s relationship as “irretrievably broken” in his court docs.
Jonas responded to Turner’s lawsuit in a statement to Us on Thursday, September 20, noting in part, “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 U.S. permanently.”
Jonas and Turner eloped in Las Vegas in May 2019 after the Billboard Music Awards, holding a second ceremony in France one month later. They welcomed daughter Willa in 2020 and a second baby girl (whose initials were listed as D.J. in Jonas’ divorce filing) in 2022.
In his petition, Jonas indicated that the kids have been residing with him in Miami, but it would be in their “best interests” for him and Turner to have “shared parental responsibility.”
Speculation arose about Jonas and Turner’s relationship status in August after they put their Florida mansion on the market. The twosome were each spotted without their wedding rings that same month. Some fans later believed Jonas was attempting to squash split rumors by showing off his ring on stage during a Jonas Brothers concert in Texas on September 3 and in an Instagram photo one day later.
The now-estranged couple addressed their breakup in a joint statement shared via social media one day after Jonas officially filed for divorce. “After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage,” they wrote on September 6. “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.”
While Jonas has been performing on The Tour with brothers Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas, Turner has been filming a new series in Great Britain titled Joan. She previously expressed an interest in moving back to her native country in a May 2022 Elle UK interview.
“I’m slowly dragging my husband back [to England],” she teased at the time. “I really love living in America but, for my mental health, I have to be around my friends and my family.”
She added: “I miss England so much. The people, the attitude, everything. England would ideally be the final destination, but [Joe] might take quite a bit of convincing!”
Turner joked about her and Joe’s opposing personalities two years prior while they were in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m an introvert, I’m a homebody,” she said on Conan in March 2020. “If I could stay at home all day, I would, so this is great for me.”
Before calling it quits, Joe and the Game of Thrones alum spoke sparingly about their marriage and daughters in public. While discussing the inspiration behind the Jonas Brothers song “Hesitate” in June 2019, Joe cited Turner as his muse.
“This is, kind of, I think, one of those love letters you write to your partner saying, ‘I’ll be there no matter what,'” he said on Apple Music’s Beats 1 at the time.
