Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas and why public opinion matters in celebrity divorces

Their surprise Las Vegas wedding ended in an unexpected divorce. After four years of marriage, and three weeks after their latest cute Instagram post, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are splitting up.

Following rumors on Sept. 3, the news that the marriage has “irretrievably broken” was confirmed exclusively to TODAY on Sept. 5 with the release of the divorce papers, which Jonas filed in Miami Dade county in Florida.

What’s happened since is a flurry of statements from “sources” published in various tabloids, leading fans to discuss the couple's alleged parenting responsibilities and other topics.

Molly McPherson, author of the book “Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond with Confidence in a Media Crisis,” and whose public relations company focuses on crisis management, has been closely following the couple’s moves in the media post-split.

She says a celebrity divorce is not all that dissimilar from a regular divorce in terms of emotion, but seems outsized due to fame and the stakes of public image on people’s careers.

“The tricky aspect is that they’re likely managing the same emotions that a regular person experiences in a divorce, so it becomes difficult to hide it when you’re dealing with publicity,” she says.

To manage, the celebrities bring in publicists to manage the aftermath and “control the narrative,” McPherson says.

So, in this instance, what is the narrative being spun by both parties — and who is winning the war of public opinion? McPherson breaks down where the Turner-Jonas divorce stands, a week after the rumors began.

The Sunday-night news drop

TMZ was first to break the news that Jonas and Turner were likely headed for divorce in an article posted on Sunday, Sept. 3.

To McPherson, the timing seemed to be deliberate.

"People are familiar with the tactic of dropping bad news late on a Friday so it’s less likely to be picked up by the press," she says — though in this case, it was a Sunday during a holiday weekend.

“Nowadays, social media adds a wrinkle to that tactic because so many people are discussing the news on social media. News editors and reporters may sleep over the weekend, but social media does not,” she says.

The war of public opinion

When rumors of a divorce emerged over the weekend, other tabloid stories also cropped up that seemed to paint Turner as a "bad mom." Jonas, according to sources who spoke to TMZ, had been primarily caring for the couple’s children while on tour. The couple had “different lifestyles,” those sources also said, and alleged that the singer liked to stay home while the actress liked to party.

“A celebrity divorce is going to mirror a real-life divorce in many cases. Both sides want to project an image that they are not the cause. They want to project all the positive sides about them,” she says.

With fans rushing to Turner’s support and pulling up archival interviews with contradicting messaging, McPherson says the effort to spin Jonas' image as a "good dad" compared to Turner's "party mom" backfired.

“I’m an introvert, I’m a homebody,” Turner said in April 2020 while speaking to Conan O’Brien. “If I could stay at home all day I would, so this is great for me.”

Or, in 2022, Turner spoke about caring for the couple’s older daughter while pregnant and shooting “The Staircase.” The family relocated to Atlanta for the duration of the shoot and, according to Turner, she was alone with Willa.

“I couldn’t not go home to my daughter at the end of the day,” she told Elle UK. “Joe’s job is bouncing around from city to city every night. I have a longer amount of time in one place, so it makes sense for me to have her with me.”

The couple’s divorce statement, decoded

On Sept. 6, Turner and Jonas issued a joint statement posted to both of their Instagram accounts.

“After four years of wonderful marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage,” the statement read. “There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”

McPherson believes this statement is the byproduct of their respective teams collaborating — and even negotiating — on wording.

“There are subtle clues in the statement that suggest there is more to it than meets the eye,” she says.

McPherson points to the inclusion of “amicably” and “united.”

“The choice of words suggests harmony and mutual agreement. However, when there’s so much emphasis on those types of words, sometimes it can indicate that things are not as harmonious behind the scenes,” she says.

Silence speaks volumes

In situations like this, McPherson pays attention to the volume of stories that are published about each person, and notices each person’s social media activity.

Turner hasn't posted on Instagram for three weeks, and her last picture was a photo of her and Jonas. Jonas posted a photo, amid rumors, of him with a wedding ring, which led to many headlines. He also posted a photo of him and his brothers Nick and Kevin, who comprise the Jonas Brothers, with a caption about “family time.”

Turner also generally posts at a less frequent cadence, having said in interviews social media affects her mental health.

“I suspect the person in that union who caused more of the problems will likely be the person who we will see pop up in the press, in paparazzi photographs and other sourced stories,” she says.

“Sophie Turner’s silence is all she needs to win this war of public opinion over this divorce. There is strength in silence because there is truth in silence. And I believe that’s what Sophie Turner is sharing with her fans in a very subtle way,” she says.

What’s next for Jonas and Turner?

McPherson is paying attention to Jonas and Turner’s next moves. She says their pre-existing pop culture associations will color their perception post-divorce.

Turner rose to fame on “Game of Thrones,” playing a young woman who enters into and then escapes an abusive marriage (and another terrifying engagement). She remains strongly associated with Sansa Stark, which McPherson sees as an asset.

“If I were Sophie Turner’s publicists, I would advise her to maintain the dignity and the grace she’s shown so far and for the next phase of her career, to focus on projects that allow her to continue to shine as a strong, independent, fierce woman.”

McPherson sees Jonas’ path as more difficult.

“He came from the boy brother band, to having all these fans who loved him, to now they’re all very confused and disappointed because he’s either allowing or spreading false stories about Sophie online, tarnishing the image they’ve held for him. It might be difficult for them to reconcile the Joe Jonas that was pictured on a bedroom poster on their wall to the one getting so much negativity online.

"He needs to craft a whole new brand post divorce. It’ll be interesting to see how he does that," she said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com