Sophie Turner & Joe Jonas Speak Out On Custody Agreement In Rare Joint Statement Amid Divorce

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are speaking out.

In a rare joint statement obtained by Access Hollywood on Tuesday, the estranged couple weighed in on the news that they had reached a temporary custody agreement for their two daughters.

“After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend time equally in loving homes in both the U.S. and the UK. We look forward to being great co-parents,” the statement read.

The latest development in Joe and Sophie’s ongoing divorce comes hours after Access confirmed the pair is close to an “amicable resolution” in the custody case.

Celebrity Breakups Of 2023: Britney Spears, Sofia Vergara & More

View Gallery

According to court documents obtained by Access on Tuesday, both parties agreed to alternate custody of their two daughters, Willa, 3, and Delphine, 1, for two weeks at a time until Jan. 7, 2024.

The timing will enable the girls to spend Thanksgiving with Joe and Christmas with Sophie, and each parent is permitted to travel with the kids to the UK or any state within the U.S., the papers state. Sophie, 27, and Joe, 34, underwent three days of mediation at a federal courthouse in New York City in early October.

Weeks earlier, Sophie sued the pop star for alleged “wrongful retention” of the girls and requested at the time that they be returned to her home country of England.

Federal court documents filed in September and obtained by Access at the time noted that Sophie and Joe lived in multiple locations during their relationship and allegedly agreed to settle permanently in England with their kids. They began searching for their “forever home” overseas in late 2022 and were “very excited” for the move, the docs claimed.

Additional paperwork obtained by Access claimed that Sophie possessed a note Joe had allegedly written to persuade a homeowner in Oxford, England, to sell them their property, which the family would have lived in full-time.

Joe filed for divorce in Florida in early September after four years of marriage, a move which Sophie claimed in her petition came as a surprise. According to the docs, the pair had an argument in mid-august and Sophie didn’t discover the divorce proceedings were official until the news went public on Sept. 5.

In a statement to Access, Joe denied the claims made in Sophie’s suit, alleging that she was indeed aware he intended to file for divorce and claiming that the Florida court order had prevented either of them from relocating the children.

The actress had been working in England on her upcoming tv series “Joan” while Joe remained in the states with the girls during his tour with brothers Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas. Sophie’s petition claimed she had “hesitation” about the initial arrangement.

In her lawsuit, Sophie’s legal team accused joe of refusing to return their daughters’ passports. The petition claimed that the pair met after their split to discuss custody arrangements, when Joe allegedly revealed he had changed his mind about having the kids live in England.

According to Joe’s rep, the singer felt that he and Sophie had reached an understanding about their co-parenting approach during their post-split meeting. The statement alleged that Sophie expressed her desire for the children to be taken to England permanently, which Joe’s team claimed was a violation of the Florida court order if he complied. The statement added that the kids have spent most of their lives in the states and Joe is “okay” with them being raised in both the U.S. and the UK.

Ahead of the mediation, an interim consent was filed on behalf of Sophie and Joe on Sept. 25 indicating their agreement to keep the children in New York City as they navigate their divorce.

Prior to Tuesday, Sophie and Joe had only issued one joint statement on their breakup, saying in respective Instagram posts on Sept. 6 that they had “mutually decided to amicably end” their marriage. They also referenced the “speculative narratives” surrounding the news and insisted the choice was a “united” one.

In his divorce filing, Joe called the marriage “irretrievably broken” and indicated plans for joint custody of the girls.

After a two-year engagement, he and Sophie tied the knot in 2019 in double ceremonies – one in Las Vegas after that year’s Billboard Music Awards and then in a more formal wedding in France.

Since the split, the British actress has been spotted out with new pal Taylor Swift – a former girlfriend of Joe’s – enjoying multiple dinners and even a football game with fellow celebs Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, where they all cheered on Taylor’s rumored beau, NFL star Travis Kelce. Sophie has also reportedly been staying in Taylor’s Manhattan apartment with the girls..

Joe, meanwhile, took the stage at a Jonas Brothers concert in Los Angeles after his divorce filing and told fans not to believe anything they read about his personal life unless they hear it directly from him.