Despite reaching a divorce settlement earlier this year, Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith still find themselves at odds over one very personal issue.
The exes continue to make headlines in regards to custody issues pertaining to their daughter, Juno, whom they welcomed in April 2020.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Jackson, 47, and Turner-Smith, 38, reached a divorce settlement in May and agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their child.
While both parties also initially agreed to allow Turner-Smith to pick their daughter’s school. Jackson appeared to have a change of heart.
As a result, Turner-Smith asked a judge to force Jackson into adhering to a court order that gives her the power to pick their child’s place of education. (At the time, the actress wanted their daughter to move to a new school next year, but Jackson wasn’t on board. She claimed she researched the new school, conferred with him about it and made sure it was close enough to his home — but he still reportedly refused to agree to a switch-up.)
At the end of May, Jackson filed a motion, alleging that Turner-Smith ultimately changed Juno’s school without his approval.
Per court documents, Jackson claimed that his ex-wife found it to be “no big deal to force Juno to start over with a new school.”
The Dawson’s Creek alum claimed that he was concerned that “Jodie is attempting to create a scenario where Juno travels with her rather than attending a traditional school.”
Jackson requested a court order to have Juno stay enrolled in the school she has been at for the next year. He also asked for there to be joint approval between him and Turner-Smith for Juno’s additional school changes in the future.
In his recent motion, Jackson included a letter he wrote to his ex-wife on May 26 objecting to their daughter being away from him for weeks at a time.
The actor, who lost his home in the recent Los Angeles wildfires, said the school Turner-Smith wants is much further from his temporary home.
“I am happy that we are having this dialogue and look forward to coming to an agreement together that balances all of [Juno’s] needs to provide her with the best outcome possible,” Jackson wrote in his letter. “I think that maximizing that frequent, continuing and meaningful contact should be our guiding light [through] all of these conversations and planning of parenting time. Juno needs both of us. Ideally exactly equally.”
In a separate letter Turner-Smith allegedly wrote to Jackson on May 23, the actress explained that she would be working overseas and wanted to bring Juno with her for a period of time.
“Your willingness to accommodate that fluidity truly makes a difference,” she wrote. “I’m also glad we agree that our shared goal is to provide Juno with as much stability, consistency and meaningful time with both of us as possible. I hear and appreciate your point that this is ultimately her time with each of us, and not the other way around. That framing feels important.”
Although Turner-Smith said she was “glad” Jackson was “amenable to Juno spending a couple of weeks with her in Europe,” she didn’t agree with his request that he be allowed custody during the timeframe.
Jackson filed for divorce from Turner-Smith in October 2023 after four years of marriage. He cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split.
The Doctor Odyssey actor recently spoke out about his “important” role as a father during the April 22 episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s on Me” podcast.
“Regardless of how messy the divorce is, beautiful the divorce is, easy [or] hard the co-parenting is … I think this generation of dads is understanding, like, ‘I need to be here. It’s gonna be hard, but this is important, and I’ve got to do this,’” he explained. “It’s my job — shared with my ex-wife — to do everything that we can to nurture you, cultivate you and give you all the tools that you need in life.”
As for Turner-Smith, a source told Us, “Jodie’s priority is, and has always been, Juno’s well-being — not conflict, not press and certainly not performative parenting. This is about following agreed terms, and ensuring a shared commitment to co-parenting that centers the child.”
