Jodie Turner-Smith is speaking her truth when it comes to her relationship with ex-hubby Joshua Jackson and his new girlfriend Lupita Nyong’o.
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Sharing her thoughts in a new interview with The Cut, Turner-Smith shared that the moment she and Jackson went public with their relationship at the premiere of her film Queen & Slim back in 2019, things went to a whole new level—and not in a good way. A rising actress who’d just landed her first lead in a film, she was elated when her then boo asked to take a picture together on that carpet. However, that moment ended up changing their dynamic as she felt like she’d become “Mrs. Joshua Jackson” at a time when she was trying to create a name for herself—and while she was secretly a few months pregnant.
“It all came from a really innocent place,” she said. “I didn’t understand how sinister that could end up being for me. It was taking away from a moment that I needed to have on my own. 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.”
She went on to say how some of the “most painful” parts of their relationship derived from commentary on why she chose to be with him.
“The most painful was the commentary about why I had chosen him for a partner, that I chose him because I hated myself, because I wanted a light-skinned baby: All these things that are not an accurate reflection of why a person falls in love or at least why this person did.
When you’re in the public eye, a part of you belongs to the public. It stops being yours and becomes theirs too. I didn’t have an accurate scope of understanding what it would mean to share my relationship with the public. It’s something I will 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.”
Jackson and Turner-Smith would file for divorce at the top of October 2023, though court documents reveal they’d been separated since mid-September. The reason for their split is due to irreconcilable differences. She also filed for joint custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Juno. Spousal support was reportedly not being offered up for either party and there was no prenuptial agreement in place.
And while it seems Turner-Smith will be keeping things under wraps when it comes to her next relationship—it looks like her ex Jackson may be doing the same. As previously reported by The Root, Jackson and his new girlfriend Lupita Nyong’o sparked rumors that they’d been coupled up in late 2023 after being spotted together looking rather cozy on several occasions.
Though neither Jackson or Nyong’o have come out and officially confirmed their romance, pictures of the two spotted out in Mexico back in March for her birthday show them engaging in some PDA.
When asked how Turner-Smith felt about her ex’s new relationship, The Acolyte star said: “Good for them. We need happiness in order to peacefully co-parent. 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.”
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