Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson were some of the later victims of the summer of celebrity breakups last year. Turner-Smith filed for divorce in October 2024, and Jackson was supposedly as surprised as the rest of us.
"Joshua obviously didn’t realize it was this bad, that Jodie was this unhappy," a source close to the pair said.
But while Jackson soon made headlines for his PDA and subsequent romance with fellow actor Lupita Nyong'o, Turner-Smith stayed surprisingly quiet about it all. Well, unless you count that not-so-subtle Instagram post about "unhealed people," she shared the day after the photos of Nyong'o and Jackson were revealed.
That silence is seemingly over, as Turner-Smith is ready to share her feelings on the divorce and the marriage that led to it.
“Sometimes things we really want to work just don’t end up working," she told The Times. "And that’s OK. The most important thing is that you choose what’s healthiest for you and your family and definitely your children."
Rumors had swirled that the couple were having problems long before the divorce was filed. Back in September 2022, some keen-eyed sleuths spotted that the pair were no longer following one another on Instagram, although this was soon remedied, and no public statement followed.
"There are so many different moments in our life where we look at ourselves and say, ‘Who am I and am I being true to that?’ If the answer is no, then you have to make a move because I believe that there are visible scars from staying in places that are not good for us," Turner-Smith continued, "And they don’t just affect us, they affect everybody around us."
Turner-Smith is likely referencing the daughter she shares with Jackson. Juno Rose Diana is three years old, and the couple seems to be sharing custody of her.
Does she regret her marriage? Turner-Smith has a far more positive outlook than that.
"I don’t think it’s a failure. We obviously had such a beautiful moment together. And now it’s time for a new moment for both of us. And how exciting!" Turner-Smith reflected, "The bravest thing in the world is to recognize when something’s not working and to make a move, and I always want to set that kind of example for my daughter."
Aside from that one pointed Instagram quote, why has Turner-Smith chosen to stay quiet on the matter until now?
“I’m not out here responding to everything that people say and people’s opinions because that’s a losing battle. At the end of the day I am not the only person in the world going through a divorce. There are millions of people in the world who are going through what I’m going through and that’s something that’s amazing about the internet, that sometimes it can offer you community.”
Jackson has since been spotted more often with Nyong'o, but there's been no sign of Turner-Smith dipping her toe back into the dating pool, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
“I am a single mother and it is incredible,” she enthused. “Right now is a sensitive time, the time for me to be focused on her. I’m enjoying not having to focus on a man. Men take up a lot of space!”
Instead, she's kept busy with her successful career. Turner-Smith just wrapped The Acolyte, a TV series from the Star Wars franchise, and has another series in the works, Bad Monkey, which also stars Vince Vaughn.
“I feel like the world is my oyster. I’m pinching myself, it’s insane!” Turner said.
