Jodie Turner-Smith claims her estranged husband, Joshua Jackson, is refusing her custody time with their daughter and is allegedly attempting to strip her of legal custody.
Us Weekly can confirm that Turner-Smith’s attorney, Laura Wasser, filed a declaration in which she accused Jackson, 46, of refusing to “allow Jodie to have custodial time” with their daughter when she was filming a project in London. In Touch was first to report the news.
“In response, Josh hired a second law firm to represent him on custody issues and filed numerous pleadings seeking sole legal custody,” read the paperwork. “To which we have to file evidentiary objections, a request for evidentiary hearing listing a therapist (not involved in the case) and international move-away expert as witnesses, expert declaration from said therapist and move-away expert, an ex parte application seeking sole legal custody and further supplemental declarations from Josh.”
Turner-Smith’s attorney had to attend more than eight hours of mediation regarding the actress’ request to have custodial time in summer and fall 2024. The project was not named in the legal docs but Turner-Smith, 38, filmed the Paramount+ series The Agency last year.
Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith quickly fell head over heels for each other before their 2023 split. The duo sparked rumors of a romance after they were “all over each other” at Usher‘s 40th birthday party in October 2018. A source told Us Weekly at the time that the pair looked “super smitten” with one […]
The paperwork also stated that Dawson’s Creek alum Jackson could be deposed because the exes still need to work out a deal for custody for spring and summer 2025. A hearing in the case has been set for March. Us Weekly has reached out to Jackson’s rep for comment.
Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images
Us confirmed in October 2023 that Turner-Smith filed for divorce after four years of marriage. In her petition, Turner-Smith cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split and listed September 13, 2023, as the pair’s date of separation.
A source told Us at the time that Jackson was “caught off guard” by Turner-Smith’s filing.
Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson Getty Images; FilmMagic
“They had their issues, as many couples do — especially two busy actors who are also juggling a child,” the insider shared about Turner-Smith’s “decision” to call it quits. “Joshua obviously didn’t realize it was this bad, that Jodie was this unhappy.”
According to a second source, however, Turner-Smith’s choice didn’t come out of nowhere. “She refused to settle for something that didn’t feel right,” the insider noted. “[It] wasn’t working for her, so she ripped off the Band-Aid.”
Jackson and Turner-Smith initially sparked romance rumors in 2018. Us broke the news in December 2019 that they quietly tied the knot, and their daughter was born less than one year later in April 2020.
Turner-Smith previously gushed about her love for Jackson, writing via Instagram in February 2023, “Our 2nd valentine’s day and it’s even more magical than the first! here’s to a lifetime of them. happy valentine’s day to the man who sees my soul and holds my heart 💞 love you, baby daddy 💋🤗🥰.”
Two months later, Jackson credited Turner-Smith for changing his perspective on marriage.
“Partially, it’s age. I’m old enough to be able to do this. Partially it’s about finding somebody in the right moment of life,” he told the U.K.’s The Times. “If we had met five years earlier we probably would have had a torrid affair, but all the rest of this stuff, I was just not ready. I didn’t think I ever wanted to get married.”
