Joshua Jackson has reportedly filed an emergency court motion against Jodie Turner-Smith in a move to modify the custody order.
Jackson, 46, filed the motion on Friday, June 30, accusing his ex-wife, 38, of switching their daughter Juno's schools without informing him. The pair welcomed their child, now 5, in April 2020.
Following four years of marriage, Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce in October 2023. At the time, they agreed to share custody of their child, and settled for divorce just this May. Jackson had agreed to shell out $2,787 in monthly child support.
Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith's custody battle over daughter Juno rages on: Here's what we know
The Doctor Odyssey star and the Queen & Slim actress' legal battles rage on, and in the new development, the former accused his wife of saying that it's "no big deal to force Juno to start over with a new school" and that he's worried that "Jodie is attempting to create a scenario where Juno travels with her rather than attending a traditional school."
People Magazine has reported that Joshua Jackson is petitioning the court to order Juno to keep going to the school she had already been going to. He is also requesting joint consent with Turner-Smith for any such future developments.
"Respondent respectfully requests orders ensuring that the minor child continues attending her present school for the next academic year 2025-2026,” the documents read per E! News, “and for the parents' joint consent to be required for any subsequent school change."
In his filing, according to the outlet, Joshua Jackson is alleging that in changing their daughter's schools, Jodie had violated their previous agreement to confer with each other in such cases.
He also outlined his and his former partner's contrasting beliefs pertaining to education, claiming that Jodie Turner-Smith once texted him that Juno doesn't “require a fixed location" for a wholesome education, and that she could gain from tutors and remote learning instead.
Joshua, who had his own share of learning on set as a former child star, penned,
“Even in the best case it cannot begin to provide a child with the same nurturing and enrichment, peer relationships and social skills that a classroom and school community environment provides.”
People Magazine has reported that the couple has long been at odds over where their daughter would go to school.
In documents obtained by the outlet, Jodie had once claimed that when she and Jackson entered into a "stipulation and order to resolve the issue of selection of Juno’s school" last year, she was given the authority to "make the final decision" about her schooling, though she would have to confer with her former partner about the same.
In his filing, Joshua Jackson also pointed out that his daughter is “flourishing” at her current school, and pointed out the disruption in her daily life she had to endure in the last few years, including losing the actor's home to the Los Angeles fires just this year.
"Adding an unnecessary school change cannot be in her interests," he stated.
During an April episode of the Dinner's On Me podcast, Joshua Jackson ascertained that despite his legal woes with his ex-wife, his daughter would always be his first priority:
“If I ever did anything to estrange my daughter from myself, I would be in duress,” he said. “I actually can’t conceive of it because I don’t even wanna think of the pain that that would be.”
He continued,
“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.’ 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.”
Back in October 2024, Turner-Smith spoke to GLAMOUR for her Woman of the Year cover story, where she reflected on how "complicated" things are for her and Joshua Jackson when it comes to co-parenting:
"It’s an adjustment period for anyone when they split up with someone because you’re used to being with your child all the time,” she said. “But nobody hands you a manual. Everyone’s trying to figure it out."
She added,
"Each parent has a different life, and especially if the reason why you’re splitting up is because you have different lives, it’s only further complicated by how you’re going to coparent.”
Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith were first linked back in 2018. The following year, they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, and by 2020, they welcomed their first child.
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