Jodie Turner-Smith is opening up about her split from Joshua Jackson, including his rumored romance with Lupita Nyong’o.
The “Queen & Slim” star spoke to The Cut in June and discussed details about her marriage to Jackson, who she filed for divorce from in October 2023 after nearly four years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
Shortly after she filed for divorce, the former “Dawson’s Creek” star was photographed with Nyong’o at a Janelle Monae concert in Los Angeles. When asked by the publication if it was “weird” to see Jackson begin to date another actor, Turner-Smith replied, “Good for them.”
“We need happiness in order to peacefully co-parent,” she said, referring to their daughter, Juno Rose Diana Jackson, who they welcomed in April 2020. “I’m trying to get us to the Gwyneth and Chris Martin level. I truly hope they’re happy and that it benefits us as a family.”
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin famously made the decision to “consciously uncouple” in 2014. Since their split, the former couple have remained friends and co-parents to their two children, Apple, 20, and Moses, 18, with the actor even celebrating her ex’s birthday and posting a message about him on Father’s Day in 2023.
Turner-Smith reflected on her relationship with Jackson during the interview and how their romance defined her place in Hollywood for a time, including their red carpet debut in November 2019 at the “Queen & Slim” movie premiere.
Though she said that “it all came from a really innocent place,” she noted that she “didn’t understand how sinister that could end up being” for her.
“It was taking away from a moment that I needed to have on my own,” she said. “It opened up a very painful conversation to the world about who I was with and how right or wrong it was to be with that person. And when you’re pregnant, it’s like the most vulnerable time of your life.”
Later in the interview, she also spoke about the good and the bad that came along with having such a public relationship, including the hate and vitriol she endured as a result.
“When you’re in the public eye, a part of you belongs to the public. It stops being yours and becomes theirs too,” she explained. “I didn’t have an accurate scope of understanding what it would mean to share my relationship with the public.”
Turner-Smith noted that being that public is something she'd “never do again.”
“Ever. That is one major lesson that I took away from this, which is just that people don’t need to know everything,” she added.
Turner-Smith previously spoke about her split with Jackson in a February 2024 interview with The Sunday Times.
“Sometimes things we really want to work just don’t end up working,” she told the publication. “And that’s OK. The most important thing is that you choose what’s healthiest for you and your family and definitely your children.
Speaking of the end of her marriage, the actor noted, “I don’t think it’s a failure.”
“We obviously had such a beautiful moment together,” she added. “And now it’s time for a new moment for both of us. And how exciting!”
