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American singer, Joe Jonas has released a statement in response to estranged wife Sophie Turner’s lawsuit to return to England with their daughters amid their divorce.
On Thursday, Turner had filed a lawsuit against Jonas for “wrongful retention of two children,” claiming the 34-year-old is withholding their daughters’ passports in order to prevent them from returning to “their habitual residence in England.”
Now Jonas is claiming that handing over their travel documents would be a violation of a recent Florida court order.
“Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kids,” Jonas’s representatives wrote in a statement obtained by People. “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 toward an amicable coparenting setup.”
According to the statement, Turner requested the passports “less than 24 hours” after their meeting on September 17. “Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK,” the statement continued. “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.”
Joe Jonas also appeared to refute claims that Sophie Turner learned about their divorce from media reports on September 5, just one day before the official documents were filed on September 6.
“After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case,” the statement from Jonas’s camp claims.
“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.”
The statement further asserts that Jonas is “okay with the kids being raised both in the US and the UK,” but emphasizes that the children “have spent the vast majority of their lives in the US.”
“This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending,” the statement continued. “When language like ‘abduction’ is used, it is misleading at best and a serious abuse of the legal system at worst. The children were not abducted.”
