When the Jonas Brothers, Uproxx’s June cover stars, opened their ambitious The Tour on August 12, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas’ wife of four years, showed her support by wearing a Taylor Swift-inspired “Mr. Perfectly Fine” friendship bracelet. Just over one month later, it seems nothing is fine between Jonas and Turner, who confirmed their plans to divorce with public statements on September 6.
Jonas has issued a statement to Page Six refuting a lawsuit filed by Turner, as NBC News obtained and shared earlier this morning (September 21), asking “for the return of their two young children to England” because she felt Willa, whom they welcomed in July 2020, and their second child, whose identity has remained private since birth in July 2022, “have been wrongfully retained in New York City since September 20 from ‘their habitual residence’ in England.”
Through his representatives, Jonas stated that he didn’t “abduct” their daughters and called Turner’s filing “a harsh legal position,” which surprised Jonas because they’d previously agreed to an “amicable co-parenting setup.”
“Less than 24 hours [after meeting last Sunday], Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK,” Jonas’ statement reads. “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.”
It continues, “Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also okay with the kids being raised both in the US and the UK.”
Additionally, Jonas’ took issue with the assertion in Turner’s court documents that she only learned of Joe’s divorce filing “through the media” on September 5. Jonas offered that he believed Turner was “aware” of his filing because they’d had “multiple conversations” about the state of their marriage prior.
Page Six noted that Jonas’ divorce filing in Miami from earlier this month “restricts both Jonas and Turner from relocating with their children.”
However, Turner’s filing states, “They decided that as Turner started filming a new drama series in the UK in May, the kids would travel with Jonas and a nanny as he kicked off his tour with The Jonas Brothers in the US in late July.”
Earlier this week, Turner was spotted with Taylor Swift in New York City. Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers’ ongoing tour is next scheduled to hit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday night, September 21.