Sophie Turner has made a surprise move over her ex Joe Jonas.
The 27-year-old decided to withdraw the child abduction allegations she previously made against her estranged husband, three months following their reach of an amicable custody agreement.
The legal representatives for both parties have approached a federal judge in New York, requesting the dismissal of the actress’s earlier accusations.
© GettyThese allegations, as reported by TMZ, involved the claim that the Jonas Brothers singer had abducted their daughters, Willa, aged 3, and Delphine, aged 1, during the course of their divorce proceedings.
In September last year, Sophie had initiated legal action against her ex-husband. According to the court documents, she sought to ensure "the immediate return of children wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained."
She stated that during Christmas of 2022, they had mutually agreed to make the United Kingdom their permanent residence and had started to explore schooling options for their elder daughter, Willa.
Following this agreement, Sophie accused the Cake By the Ocean singer of retaining their daughters' passports, thereby preventing them from leaving the United States.
© GettyHowever, Joe, through a statement from his representative, firmly denied these allegations of abduction.
The representative explained to Page Six: "Less than 24 hours later, Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK. 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.”
The representative emphasized that the use of the term 'abduction' in this context was misleading at best, and at worst, a serious misuse of the legal system.
Top Family Lawyer Jamilla Sabo at leading law firm Britton & Time told HELLO! what Sophie's decision to withdraw the child abduction allegations means in legal terms.
She said: "Under the Child Abduction Act 1984 it is a criminal offence for a child to be removed from the UK without the appropriate consent. If a report is filed with the police, you can no longer withdraw it yourself. In this case, the father is alleged to have withheld the children’s passports, preventing them from returning to the UK.
© Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer"Although surprising to many, providing a parent has parental responsibility they can refuse to hand over the child’s passport. If the passport is not held in accordance with the child arrangements order, the parent will need to make an application to the Court for permission to attain the child’s passport. In any event, there appears to be a ‘wrongful retention’ of the children rather than an ‘abduction’ as both parents agreed for the children to leave the UK however they were not returned as per that agreement.
"As such, this may explain the mother's withdrawal of her child abduction claim. It is always disheartening to see the breakdown of a family dynamic however, in this case, the parents appear to be endeavouring to keep matters amicable, attending mediation to agree child arrangements (in the interim) and putting the welfare of the children as their first consideration."
Following their divorce filing in September 2023, after four years of marriage, Joe and Sophie have been embroiled in a challenging custody battle over their two daughters.
However, a breakthrough occurred in October when the pair reached a temporary custody agreement for their children, effective until January 2024.
In her personal life, Sophie has since found happiness with British aristocrat Peregrine Pearson, with reports indicating that she is "really happy" in the new relationship.
© Getty ImagesOn the other hand, Joe has been seen spending time with model Stormi Bree. The 33-year-old model and the DNCE frontman were first seen together at an airport in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and subsequently traveled to Aspen, Colorado, where they were spotted skiing, sharing a ski lift, and enjoying a beer together.
The legal document submitted by Sophie claimed that Joe began the "wrongful retention" of their daughters on September 20.
With the withdrawal of the abduction claims and the establishment of a temporary custody agreement, it seems that both are moving towards resolving their disputes amicably and focusing on co-parenting their children.
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