Pop star Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner decided to keep their two children in New York temporarily amid an ongoing custody disagreement.
According to court documents filed on Monday in New York and obtained by People, Turner, 27, and Jonas, 34, reached a temporary agreement to have their daughters — 3-year-old Willa and their 14-month-old daughter identified as D. in court records — remain in New York.
The interim consent order specifies that Turner and Jonas are required to keep their children within the Southern and Eastern districts of New York, which includes locations such as New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley.
The filing reveals that Turner and Jonas consented to the arrangement.
"The parties have agreed to the entry of the attached proposed Interim Consent Order, without prejudice to either party's claims and defenses, prohibiting the removal of the parties' children from the jurisdictions of the United States District Courts for the Southern & Eastern Districts of New York pending further order of this Court," the court documents state.
It is further noted that, if the order is violated, the court has the right to "take or cause to be taken measures under Federal or State law, as appropriate, to protect the well-being of the child involved or to prevent the child's further removal or concealment before the final disposition of the petition."
Days before the agreement, Turner took legal action against her estranged husband, accusing Jonas of unlawfully keeping their daughters. She alleged that he was withholding their passports and preventing them from returning to England.
The complaint called for "the immediate return of children wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained," according to People. Turner's legal team revealed that the "wrongful retention" began on Sept. 20.
Turner asserted that during discussions in the lead-up to the new year, specifically around Christmas 2022, she and the musician had mutually decided to designate England as their "forever home," People reported.
Jonas disputed her claims, saying in a statement he believed they had reached an agreement to work on a co-parenting plan.
"After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case," the statement read. "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."
"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 continued. "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."
Further, the statement alleged that less than 24 hours after the "amicable co-parenting setup" was agreed upon, "Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the U.K. 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."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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