Jodie Turner-Smith has spoken out about her divorce from Joshua Jackson, saying she’s choosing to see the pair’s split in a positive way.
via: EW
The Queen & Slim actress, who spent four years married to Fatal Attraction star Joshua Jackson, has opened up about the relationship for the first time since news of their split broke in October 2023.
“I don’t think it’s a failure,” Turner-Smith told the UK’s Sunday Times in a new interview. “We obviously had such a beautiful moment together. And now it’s time for a new moment for both of us. And how exciting! 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.”
She continued, “The big takeaway is that this is about just as much love and joy as it has always been. This is only about taking a step forward into a better life for everybody involved.”
The couple share a 3-year-old daughter and, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Turner-Smith is seeking joint custody with Jackson. Singing the praises of motherhood, the Acolyte actress maintained that their daughter’s happiness remains the priority.
“Sometimes things we really want to work just don’t end up working. And that’s OK,” she added. “The most important thing is that you choose what’s healthiest for you and your family and definitely your children. 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. And they don’t just affect us, they affect everybody around us.”
Turner-Smith has largely stayed silent about the divorce, even amid online speculation about their relationship. Despite opening up about the situation now, she adds that she has no intention of engaging the social media chatter.
“I’m not out here responding to everything that people say and people’s opinions because that’s a losing battle,” she said. “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.”
Prior to Turner-Smith filing for divorce, the Times spoke with Jackson in April 2023. At the time he said, “We have an understanding of each other and have enough differences that it stays interesting. And then we have this beautiful baby — you literally create the manifestation of your love. It is impossible for me to look into the face of my child without feeling love for my wife.”
Turner-Smith previously revealed that her first crush was Jackson’s Dawson’s Creek character Pacey Witter. They first crossed paths at Usher’s 40th birthday in 2018, an instance she once reminisced about on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2021: “When I first met my husband, we had a one-night stand. We’re in a two, three-year one-night stand now.” The duo quietly tied the knot in 2019 and welcomed their daughter in April 2020.
