If you were anything like me as a kid, you were probably watching Disney shows like Sonny with a Chance, Wizards of Waverly Place, Shake It Up, and my personal favorite, Jonas.
And being a Disney kid meant knowing lots of names. Names like Demi Lovato, Raven Simone, and of course the teenage heartthrobs: Kevin, Nick, and Joe better known as: the Jonas Brothers.
If you don’t know who they are, I can enlighten you. They’re a band made up of 3 brothers: Kevin (the oldest), Joe (the middle kid), and Nick (the youngest) all beginning their careers in 2005 after their first song made its way to Hollywood records. From then on, they were walking on air. They starred in “Camp Rock” in 2008, and got their own show the year after that, all while writing and releasing music.
After a couple of split ups and reunions, the trio debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019, sold over 17 million albums worldwide, and went on groundbreaking tours. Though we know and love them as our teenage dreams, the boys have grown up: they married, had families, and seemed to be perfect husbands …until this year.
British actress Sophie Turner met Joe Jonas in 2016, after the singer slid into her DMs. In 2019, the two tied the knot in a surprise Vegas wedding and seemed happy together, having two children over the course of four years; which is exactly why it came as a huge shock when they announced in September of 2023 that they were splitting.
Of course, the public knew about the trouble in paradise a while prior, as Jonas’ file for divorce was leaked to the media. Both made it clear the split was a “mutual decision” and they were working through co-parenting. But if that was true, why did Jonas and the rest of social media make it such a point to not only victimize him but villainize Turner?
Every single video, tweet, or post seen about them since that week in September was pouring with sympathy for Jonas, because it must be so difficult taking care of 2 children while touring the world and doing over 3 shows a week while Turner gets to go off and party all day and night. But that was never the case.
“A parenting plan should be established, which addressed all parenting issues and contains a timesharing schedule providing for frequent and continuing contact with both parties,” stated Jonas’ official filing.
While Jonas was being praised for simply pushing a stroller, Turner was nursing them to sleep, changing their diapers, and potty training them. To make matters worse, it’s been discovered that all this time, Turner has spent her days attempting to get her children back as Jonas allegedly “wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained” them. After much denial, it was revealed that in a letter Jonas wrote when they’d bought the English estate, that this was true.
As usual, society and media does its absolute best to not only demonize women but victimize men at any given moment.
We as a society must aim to stop putting children in the middle of divorce. Rather than focusing on celebrity splits, communities should consider how innocent children will be affected by their parents’ separation, and the physical and/or emotional toll. Being put at the forefront of the popularity and attention that this event has been gaining, simply for some kind of emotional gain, is not only childlike but disgraceful. It is in no way how a father (famous or not) should be acting.
Not to mention the added inconvenience of the event being so public. Children can hear things from thousands of people that should only be told to them by their parents alone.
Children should be in a stable and grounded environment, not on a tour bus surrounded by groupies and tutors all day. What happened between the couple is not relevant. Neither Turner, nor Jonas, has ever proven to be an abusive or neglectful parent.
Attempting to take away that role from either party on purpose is not only unfair but disrespectful to the kids, because they are both people – not opportunities for retaliation.
