Joe Jonas, 34, and his estranged wife, Sophie Turner, 27, are set to start a mediation process on October 4 in an attempt to solve their divorce and custody disagreements, as reported by the New York Post on October 3. The judge also set a trial date of January 2 in regard to custody of the starlet’s two children with Joe. Sophie and the 34-year-old share daughters Willa, 3, and Delphine, 14 months.
The outlet reported that the hearing lasted around 45 minutes and that neither of the couple was physically present. Sophie’s legal team reportedly “pressed” the judge to set a trial “as soon as possible,” given that the mother-of-two is set to start a new project for work in England come January. “We have young kids, and we have the petitioner who is here now in the United States, but she has work commitments in the UK in January,” her lawyer reportedly said during the hearing on October 3.
In addition, Joe’s legal team reportedly requested a hearing date in 2024, as his world tour is set to end on December 9. The musician’s lawyer, Richard Min, reportedly stated that the mediation could last between four to 14 days. Meanwhile, Sophie’s lawyer, Stephen Cullen, reportedly reassured the judge that Joe and his estranged spouse are both seeing the children amid the split. “The parties are both seeing their children in a very unfettered way,” Cullen said during the hearing.
As many recall, the Jonas Brothers member filed the paperwork to divorce Sophie on September 5, as reported by TMZ. In the initial docs, Joe asked for “joint custody” of their two daughters. Later, on September 21, Sophie filed a lawsuit against her estranged husband for “the immediate return of children wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained,” as reported by Page Six. In the docs, the UK native also alleged that she and Joe had previously agreed to make England their family’s “forever home.”
In response to the lawsuit, a rep for Joe released an official statement to HollywoodLife that same day. “After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case,” the statement began. “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.”
The rep went on to address the use of the word “abduction” in the filing. “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending,” the rep added. “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 U.K. and to remove the children from the U.S. permanently.” Sophie is reportedly staying at one of Taylor Swift‘s apartments in NYC amid the divorce proceedings.
