NEW YORK (Court TV) — “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner has filed a lawsuit against estranged husband Joe Jonas claiming “wrongful retention” of their children, according to court documents obtained by Court TV.
Earlier this month, the celebrity pair announced their divorce after four years of marriage. They share two children together.
FILE – Joe Jonas, left, and Sophie Turner appear at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 12, 2023, at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jonas has filed for divorce from Turner after four years of marriage and two children. The 34-year-old Jonas Brothers singer filed to end his marriage with the 27-year-old star of “Game of Thrones” and “X-Men” actor on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in a Florida court. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, Turner claims Jonas is withholding their children’s passports and refusing to let them return to England. The lawsuit claims the family relocated to England in April 2023, and the country is now “the children’s habitual residence.”
The lawsuit also offers a timeline of the couple’s recent split. It states Jonas left England with the children on July 31 to start a tour with his band, “Jonas Brothers.” The couple reportedly agreed the children would travel with Jonas while Turner stayed behind to continue filming a television show until Sept. Turner claims she was supposed to “travel to New York to collect the children and return home to England” on Sept. 20.
Instead, the lawsuit claims Turner and Jonas had an argument on Aug. 15 that resulted in Jonas filing for divorce on Sept. 1. Turner claims she learned about the divorce proceedings “through the media.”
According to the lawsuit, Turner and Jonas met on Sept. 17 to discuss the divorce proceedings, where Jonas refused to return the children’s passports.
Following the lawsuit, a representative for Jonas told PEOPLE:
“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.”
PEOPLE reported the statement also claims after their meeting, “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.”
