Sophie Turner's strength prevails in divorce battle against Joe Jonas

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Madison Bibbey

Staff Writer

34-year-old Joe Jonas divorced his wife of four years, 27-year-old Sophie Turneron September 5, 2023, according to Today.com. There were headlines that cited Turner as the source of the couple’s problems despite them issuing a joint statement. Many people on the internet believed the headlines had been encouraged by Jonas and his team. Since people believed Jonas had been spreading the agenda that Turner was the issue many people were waiting for her to respond. However Turner responded with a lawsuit against the former Disney star instead of a statement in the media. This gained Turner a lot of support from people on social media.

The couple had mutually decided that while Turner filmed a TV series, Jonas would take the girls on tour with him. They had also agreed that the girls would live primarily in England. So after Turner finished filming on September 14th, she would visit family in New York and then take the girls back to England.

 On September 21st, Turner filed a lawsuit against Jonas, requesting he return the girls' passports. The couple then reached a temporary custody agreement to keep their children in the Southern and Eastern districts of New York. This includes New York City, Long Island, and counties in Westchester. 

Turner and Jonas started mediation to try and reach an agreement on custody and their divorce on October 4th. This decision was made following  judge Katherine Polk Failla setting the trial date regarding Turner’s lawsuit for January 2nd. However this court date was canceled by Judge Failla after a successful mediation. The former couple settled their mediation on October 10th. Where they agreed that they would both have their kids in their respective countries for equal amounts of time. This agreement will last until January 2024 after their divorce hearing.

After Jonas filed for divorce, sources who claimed to be close to Jonas started a smear campaign against Turner. The sources have been speculated to be Jonas’s PR team. TMZ said that Turner had been partying and drinking frequently,insinuating that Turner was an unfit mother to the couple's two children. It was also said that Jonas saw Turner do something on a Ring Camera that told him the marriage was over. Despite the harsh wording, all Turner did was say “some not-so-nice thing about Jonas” Elle reports. 

Fans on the internet were not so quick to believe the claims made against Turner. Old videos resurfaced of the couple saying Turner was a homebody who has been open about her struggle with depression. 

Fans have been rallying behind Turner since she started acting again after having two kids. People have not been happy with Jonas, as those close to him have been villainizing Turner for not having her kids while she’s been filming. People are also angry that Jonas seems to be seeking praise and sympathy for taking care of his kids. 

Turner has also been supported by music superstar Taylor Swift. Swift, who formerly dated Jonas, said the Disney star broke up with her in a short phone call. Swift and Turner went out to dinner and had a girls' night on September 19th, while Swift loans her New York City apartment to Turner and her daughters. 

Despite the smear campaign against Sophie Turner, she and her PR team have remained relatively silent in the media. This decision has fans applauding her. People on social media have been adamant about supporting Turner. Sophie got 5% more support than Jonas in a poll done by The Jag Times on Instagram. It’s safe to say that Turner won the public eye in the divorce.