Sophie Turner sues Joe Jonas for return of their children to England

Sophie Turner has sued estranged husband Joe Jonas for the return of their two young daughters to her home in England, court documents say.

Attorneys for the "Game of Thrones" star filed a petition in a New York City court that alleges "wrongful retention of two children" in New York City by Jonas from "their habitual residence in England."

The couple are in the process of divorcing after four years of marriage. Jonas filed papers earlier this month in a Florida court.

The petition calls for the "immediate return" of the couple's two children to Turner's home in England.

A representative for Jonas responded to the petition in a lengthy statement to NBC News.

"Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kids," the statement reads. "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.

"Less than 24 hours later, Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK," the statement continues. "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."

NBC News has reached out to Turner’s team for comment.

Turner claims in her petition that on or about Sept. 17, she met with Jonas to discuss their separation and reiterated a plan for the children to return to England that week. However, Jonas refused to return their passports from his possession and refused to send the children to England, the court filing alleges.

Turner's petition was filed through the Hague Abduction Convention, an international treaty that aims to give a civil solution to parents "seeking the return of a child wrongfully removed or retained across international borders." Turner's filing doesn't directly accuse Jonas of abduction; it states the court has jurisdiction under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act.

"This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending. When language like 'abduction' is used, it is misleading at best, and a serious abuse of the legal system at worst," Jonas' rep said in the statement. "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 UK and to remove the children from the U.S. permanently."

Turner's filing says that the couple made England their permanent home in April of this year and "often discussed their desire to raise their children in England."

The children are "both fully involved and integrated in all aspects of daily and cultural life in England" and receive routine medical and dental care in Britain," the filing states. Their older daughter attended nursery school in the country, according to the documents.

Jonas countered that assertion in his rep's statement to NBC News.

"The children were born in the U.S. and have spent the vast majority of their lives in the U.S.," his rep said. "They are American citizens."

Turner and Jonas had agreed "with some hesitation" that Jonas and a nanny would be with the children during August as a "temporary arrangement" while Jonas was on tour with his band, Jonas Brothers, in the U.S., Turner's filing states.

The plan was that Turner, who had been in Britain filming an ITV series, would return to England with the children on Sept. 20, but that was complicated by a breakdown of their marriage that happened "very suddenly" in early September, according to Turner's filing.

The petition states that Turner and Jonas "had an argument" on Aug. 15 and then Turner found out on Sept. 5 through the media that Jonas had filed for divorce four days earlier.

Jonas denied that she was alerted to the proceedings by the media.

"Sophie was aware that Joe was going to file for divorce," he said in his statement. "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."

Jonas in his divorce filing asked for a parenting plan and a timesharing schedule to be ordered by a Florida court, Turner's petition says, and "incorrectly" claimed the children had been living at the couple's Miami home for the past six months.

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.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com