Sophie Turner endured the biggest heartbreak of her life and came out stronger. In a new magazine interview, the actor says she did it all for her kids.
Turner and musician Joe Jonas split in September 2023, after four years of marriage and two children. Soon after news broke of the separation, the pop singer filed for divorce from the Game of Thrones alum (something Turner said she learned “through the media”), and the two became embroiled in a complicated custody battle over their young daughters, Willa, three, and Delphine, one.
“I mean, those were the worst few days of my life,” Turner said in the interview, recalling the early days of the breakup. “There were some days that I didn’t know if I was going to make it.”
She recalled the media storm that followed the news of the split, and how she worried it would negatively affect her children.
“I would call my lawyer saying, ‘I can’t do this. I just can’t.’ I was just never strong enough to stand up for myself,” Turner said. “And then, finally, after two weeks of me being in a rut, she reminded me that it was my children I was fighting for. Once anyone says to me, ‘Do it for your kids,’ I’m doing it. I wouldn’t do it for myself, but I’ll find the strength for them.”
At the time, the actor was in the United Kingdom filming her upcoming series Joan, while Jonas had their two daughters and had filed a request to keep them in the United States.
“I was contracted to be on set for another two weeks, so I couldn’t leave. My kids were in the States and I couldn’t get to them because I had to finish Joan. And all these articles started coming out …” Turner recalled.
At the peak of the conflict, Turner filed a lawsuit against Jonas over “wrongful retention” of their kids. The suit has since been dismissed and the exes are working out the details of their divorce and custody agreement.
Turner has also moved on romantically and is currently dating British aristocrat Peregrine Pearson. Based on their recent PDA-filled outings, the two seem to be going strong.
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
