Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner Will Go Through a 4-Day Custody Mediation

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s divorce seems to be getting messier amid reports that he allegedly withheld his children’s passports. On October 3, the former couple met in a Manhattan federal court and agreed to a four-day mediation to decide whether or not Joe “wrongfully retained” their young daughters in the U.S. while Sophie was working overseas in the UK.

According to People, the mediation will begin on Wednesday, October 4, after a federal judge set a trial date for January 2, 2024, to ensure it won’t clash with Joe and Sophie’s work commitments. Per the report, Sophie’s lawyer, Stephen Cullen, said during the mediation that her legal team would go “full hog” to come to an “amicable resolution.” Joe’s lawyer, Richard Min, added that his team is “optimistic they have given space to mediate, and four days is enough time.”

Legal experts who aren’t directly tied to the case told the outlet that a private mediation would ultimately benefit the former couple, who were married for four years and share two daughters together.

“Mediation is clearly a common way to make headlines disappear,” L.A.-based family law specialist Steve Mindel told People. “At this point, Joe and Sophie have to sit down and make a decision—and the mediator will help them make that decision—as to whether or not they want to really be public with this.”

The mediator will likely go through a basic parenting plan, making for an intense few days since negotiations are “commonly all-day affairs,” according to Mindel. “They start at 9 a.m. and if the mediator is making traction, you might go to 8, 9, or 10 o’clock at night. To do that four days in a row would be exhausting,” he explained, adding that “both Joe and Sophie are committing an amazing amount of resources to solve this” by clearing four days for the mediation.

If the mediation goes smoothly, Joe and Sophie will come to a custody agreement that will last roughly three years until their oldest daughter, Willa, starts kindergarten. Mindel predicts, “That’s probably about as far as they’re going to get in this mediation,’ as they will likely have to reevaluate based on schooling schedules.

As of October 4, both parents have access to their children, who are residing in New York with Sophie while the case is pending.