Joe Jonas appeared to be fully onboard with moving to the U.K. with Sophie Turner just three months before he filed for divorce.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday, September 26, and obtained by Us Weekly exclusively, Jonas, 34, and Turner, 27, signed a contract to buy a property in Wallingford, Oxford, England, on July 7. The now-estranged couple put down a 10 percent deposit for the home, which is worth roughly $9 million. The purchase was not completed. “The house is in escrow,” notes a source close to the situation. “The sale never went through.”
Jonas gushed over the estate in an offer letter dated June 16. “When my wife and I decided we were going to spend more time in the UK and search for a permanent home, our daughter expressed three unwavering requirements, having chickens, a pony, and a Wendy house,” he wrote, per the September docs. “Well, many of the houses we viewed met this criteria, the moment we turned the corner and caught sight of the charming blue shutters adorning [this home], we experienced a sense of magic, unlike anything we had felt before.”
He continued to describe the “beautiful walled garden” and other characteristics of the property. “It was simply heavenly! My father-in-law is an incredibly keen gardener, and he was suitably impressed by your vegetable garden too, a very important sign off!” Jonas noted.
While picturing a life abroad with Turner and their daughters — Willa, 3, and Delphine, 14 months — Jonas wrote that he was “completely charmed by the idea of dropping my children to school” and “being able to spend a leisurely afternoon” at a pub with friends. Jonas was also “incredibly inspired by the layout” of the home, which even included “a huge room ready to be my recording studio.”
Acknowledging the previous owners, he added, “We could tell that your family have truly loved living here and we can envision our children growing up here and making this our forever home. I really think Sophie and I will be able to look after … and for many many years pay homage to the magic you have created here.”
Us confirmed on September 5 that Jonas filed for divorce from Turner after four years of marriage. In a joint statement shared via Instagram one day later, the twosome referred to the decision as one they made “mutually” and “amicably.”
Their separation soon took a turn, however, when Turner sued Jonas and claimed he was wrongfully detaining their daughters in the U.S. She alleged in her lawsuit that Jonas refused to hand over Willa and Delphine’s passports so they could travel to see their mother overseas. (According to Turner, she and Jonas agreed in December 2022 to make the move to the U.K.)
Jonas shut down the “misleading” accusations via his rep in a statement to Us on September 21, claiming that a court order was put in place in Florida — where he initially filed for divorce — indicating that neither he nor Turner were allowed to take their daughters out of the U.S. while they hammered out the details of their split.
“Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also okay with the kids being raised both in the U.S. and the UK. The children were born in the U.S. and have spent the vast majority of their lives in the U.S. They are American citizens,” the statement continued, asserting that Willa and Delphine were “not abducted.”
The twosome signed a temporary agreement on Monday, September 25, consenting to keep their kids in the New York City area for the time being. As their custody battle continues, Jonas and Turner aren’t quite on the same page.
“[He] is hoping they can come to an amicable agreement,” an insider exclusively revealed in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “[She’s] dead-set on moving to the UK full-time.”
A second source added, “They’re both laying down these aggressive legal markers, but eventually a compromise will have to be made.”
Ahead of their split, Turner was feeling overwhelmed with trying to balance work and motherhood while Jonas was on the road with his brothers. “Being a mom on the road is not easy, even when you have unlimited resources,” the second insider told Us. “It was just hard for them to settle into a regular routine because of Joe’s career especially.”
