Sophie Turner just powerfully opened up about mum-shaming after her divorce from Joe Jonas

“I really do completely torture myself over every move I make as a mother.”

Sophie Turner has powerfully spoken out about the sexist media coverage of her divorce from Joe Jonas last year.

In a new interview with Vogue, the Game of Thrones star described the period after she and Jonas announced the split as “the worst few days of my life”.

After the pair confirmed their decision to “amicably end [their] marriage” back in September 2023, TMZ reported that the separation was because “she likes to party, he likes to stay at home. They have very different lifestyles”.

While Sophie was cast as an irresponsible ‘party girl,’ the media portrayed Joe Jonas as a doting father. Case in point: one headline read, “Amid their separation, Joe Jonas has reportedly been caring for his two children with Sophie Turner ‘pretty much all of the time’ over the last three months, even while on tour.”

Sophie was on set filming Joan, an ITV drama based on Joan Hannington, Britain’s most infamous jewel thief, when these headlines started circulating. “I remember I was on set, I was contracted to be on set for another two weeks, so I couldn’t leave," she explained.

I really do completely torture myself over every move I make as a mother – mum guilt is so real!

"My kids were in the States and I couldn’t get to them because I had to finish Joan. And all these articles started coming out […] It hurt because I really do completely torture myself over every move I make as a mother – mum guilt is so real! I just kept having to say to myself, ‘None of this is true. You are a good mum and you’ve never been a partier.’”

Sophie also took aim at the “wayward mother” trope, saying, “I mean, it’s unfathomable the amount of people that will just make shit up and put it up based on a picture.

“A picture might tell a thousand words, but it’s not my story. It felt like I was watching a movie of my life that I hadn’t written, hadn’t produced, or starred in. It was shocking. I’m still in shock.”

Ruth Kenley-Letts, Joan's executive producer, told Vogue, “It was absolutely shocking what happened to her. The paparazzi were relentless. I remember we were shooting in Spain, on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, and they managed to get a photo of Sophie.

“I just couldn’t believe the lies that I read, that she was somehow out partying. And I knew they were lies, because I was with her. I’d been with her for five months straight.”

In September 2023, the pair released a joint statement via Instagram with a screenshot that read:

“After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually agreed to amicably end our marriage. There are many speculative narratives as to why, but truly, this is a united decision and we sincerely hope everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”

While there were plenty of sexist headlines perpetuating the ‘bad mother’ trope, there were also people – many of the working mothers – coming to Sophie's defence. Their efforts didn't go unnoticed.

“If something like this had happened to me 10 years ago I don’t think I would have had the same support. I just feel very lucky to be alive in a time when people are open-minded,” Sophie explained.

“Thank fuck for Gen Z.”

For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.