‘I don’t think it’s a failure’ – Jodie Turner-Smith on her divorce from Joshua Jackson

Jodie Turner-Smith recently opened up about her divorce from fellow actor Joshua Jackson, stating that the “bravest thing in the world” is to admit “when something’s not working and to make a move.”

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, the Queen & Slim star in 2023 filed for divorce from Jackson after four years of marriage. Turner-Smith and Jackson started dating in 2018 and ultimately got married the following year. They also welcomed their daughter in 2020. Turner-Smith has asked the court to grant them joint custody of their child.

“I don’t think it’s a failure,” Turner-Smith said of her divorce in an interview with the Sunday Times. “We obviously had such a beautiful moment together. And now it’s time for a new moment for both of us. And how exciting! The bravest thing in the world is to recognize when something’s not working and to make a move, and I always want to set that kind of example for my daughter.”

The 37-year-old added: “The big takeaway is that this is about just as much love and joy as it has always been. This is only about taking a step forward into a better life for everybody involved.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Turner-Smith also touched on how paramount their daughter’s happiness is despite the divorce. “Sometimes things we really want to work just don’t end up working. And that’s OK,” the Acolyte actress said. 

“The most important thing is that you choose what’s healthiest for you and your family and definitely your children. There are so many different moments in our life where we look at ourselves and say, ‘Who am I and am I being true to that?’ If the answer is no, then you have to make a move because I believe that there are visible scars from staying in places that are not good for us. And they don’t just affect us, they affect everybody around us.”

Turner-Smith, who has usually remained mum about their divorce, also said she is not concerned about the hearsay on social media. “I’m not out here responding to everything that people say and people’s opinions because that’s a losing battle,” the actress said.

“At the end of the day I am not the only person in the world going through a divorce. There are millions of people in the world who are going through what I’m going through and that’s something that’s amazing about the internet, that sometimes it can offer you community.”

In a 2018 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the 37-year-old revealed she met the Canadian actor during an event for Usher. “When I first met my husband, we had a one-night stand,” she said at the time. “We’re in a two, three-year one-night stand now.”

Jackson in a 2021 interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show also disclosed he did not have to take the knee to ask for her hand in marriage as the actress made the unorthodox move to propose to him.