Jodie Turner-Smith Alleges Joshua Jackson Seeks Sole Legal Custody
Jodie Turner-Smith alleges that her estranged husband, Joshua Jackson, is denying her custody time with their daughter and is purportedly trying to take away her legal custody rights.
Us Weekly confirms that an attorney for Turner-Smith, Laura Wasser, has filed a declaration accusing Jackson, 46, of not permitting Jodie to have custodial time when she was working on a project in London. In Touch was the first to report this story.
The declaration stated, “In response, Josh hired a second law firm to handle custody matters and has submitted multiple pleadings seeking sole legal custody.” The documents also mentioned that they needed to file evidentiary objections, a request for an evidentiary hearing with a therapist (unconnected to the case) and an international move-away expert as witnesses, along with expert declarations from both professionals and an ex parte application for sole legal custody, including further supplemental declarations from Josh.
Turner-Smith’s legal counsel attended over eight hours of mediation related to the actress’s request for custodial time in the summer and fall of 2024. While the project in question was not explicitly named in the legal documents, it is known that Turner-Smith, 38, worked on the Paramount+ series The Agency last year.
The legal filings also indicated that Dawson’s Creek star Jackson might face deposition since the former couple still needs to negotiate custody arrangements for spring and summer 2025. A court hearing for this case is scheduled for March. Us Weekly has reached out to Jackson’s representative for a statement.
Us confirmed in October 2023 that Turner-Smith filed for divorce after four years of marriage. In her divorce petition, she cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the separation, listing September 13, 2023, as the date they parted ways.
A source informed Us that Jackson was “caught off guard” by the divorce filing from Turner-Smith.
“They had their issues, like many couples do — especially two busy actors balancing career and parenting,” the insider shared regarding Turner-Smith’s choice to end the relationship. “Joshua clearly didn’t realize just how serious it was, or how unhappy Jodie truly was.”
According to another source, however, Turner-Smith’s decision was not entirely unexpected. “She wouldn’t settle for something that didn’t feel right,” the insider pointed out. “[It] wasn’t satisfactory for her, so she chose to take decisive action.”
Jackson and Turner-Smith first sparked romance rumors in 2018. Us reported in December 2019 that they had quietly tied the knot, and their daughter was born in April 2020, less than a year later.
Turner-Smith previously expressed her love for Jackson in a heartfelt Instagram post in February 2023, stating, “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 acknowledged Turner-Smith’s impact on his outlook on marriage, saying, “Partly, it’s age. I’m at a stage in life where I can commit. Partly it’s about meeting the right person at the right moment.” He added, “If we had crossed paths five years earlier, we likely would have had a brief affair; I just wasn’t prepared for this commitment back then.”
