British actress Sophie Turner has sued her singer ex-partner Joe Jonas – requesting he return their two children to their “habitual residence” England.
The celebrity couple announced earlier this month that they were divorcing after more than four years of marriage.
They described the split at the time as “amicable”. However on Thursday, lawyers for Turner, 27, filed a legal petition citing the “wrongful detention” of their children in New York.
The 34-year-old Jonas Brothers singer, who is American, is seeking joint custody of their two daughters – Willa, who was born in 2020 and their second child, who was born last year but whose name has not been released to the public.
According to Turner's legal petition, which the BBC has seen, the couple had made England their “permanent home” in April. The documents state that Jonas had incorrectly claimed in his divorce application that the children, who have dual citizenship, had lived in Florida for the six months before he filed it.
Turner and Jonas had agreed that the children were allowed to travel to the US in August, where their father was on tour, the petition states, but this was a “temporary arrangement”. The court filing goes on to say that the pair met late last week to discuss their separation, during which Turner reiterated their “agreed plan” for the children to return “home to England”.
However, Jonas has allegedly refused to return their passports and to send them to the UK. Turner is said to currently be in New York with the children.
In response to the allegations, a representative for Jonas told CNN that the pair's meeting on Sunday had been “cordial” and that his impression was that they had “reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.”
“The children were born in the US and have spent the vast majority of their lives in the US. They are American citizens,” the spokesperson said. They added that Jonas wished for Turner to “reconsider her harsh legal position and move forward in a more constructive and private manner” and that “his only concern is the well-being of his children.”
Jonas has also denied Turner's claims in the court documents that she found out about the divorce from media reports – saying she was aware in advance. Turner is best known for her role as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, and has also appeared in the drama series The Staircase and the X-Men film franchise.
Earlier this week, Turner was photographed having dinner with pop star Taylor Swift – who dated Jonas in 2008. Online gossip blogs were in overdrive as photos of the two, walking along arm-in-arm, went viral. As a solo artist, Jonas released singles including Just In Love and This is Me, a duet with Demi Lovato.
But his best-known songs are with his brothers Nick and Kevin Jonas. As a group, the Jonas Brothers previously starred in their own Disney Channel series and scored hits with SOS, Burnin' Up, Sucker and Waffle House.
They recently released Year 3000, a collaboration with Busted, the British band who originally released the song in 2002.
— CutC by bbc.com
