Sophie Turner Submits Joe Jonas’ Letter About England House as Source Says They've ‘Never’ Been U.K. Residents

Earlier this week, Turner and Jonas agreed to temporarily keep their kids in New York amid their divorce

<p>Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock</p>

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Sophie Turner has filed legal documents that include a heartfelt letter written by Joe Jonas to the seller of the U.K. home the former couple intended to purchase together before their split.

The exes have been involved in a contentious ongoing custody dispute about where their children — Willa, 3, and Delphine, 14 months — should live in the wake of their divorce. The Game of Thrones actress, 27, claimed in an earlier filing that the family's home base was in the U.K. and revealed she and the Jonas Brothers singer, 34, had entered into a contract to buy a home in her native country.

According to Page Six, Jonas reportedly wrote in part, "When my wife and I decided we were going to spend more time in the UK and search for a permanent home, our daughter expressed three unwavering requirements: having chickens, a pony and a Wendy house ... While many of the houses we viewed met this criteria, the moment we turned the corner and caught sight of the charming blue shutters adorning [redacted], we experienced a sense of magic unlike anything we had felt before.”

Related: Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner's U.K. Home Base Offered Life Where 'People Aren't Bothered Who You Are': Local

<p>Emma McIntyre/Getty Images</p>

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

He also reportedly wrote to the owner: "We can envision our children growing up here and making this our forever home,” and, “I really think Sophie and I will be able to look after [redacted names] and for many years pay homage to the magic you have created here.”

However, a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE of the house in England, "They did not buy the house. The house is in escrow, the sale never closed."

Reps for Turner and Jonas have not commented.

According to an earlier filing from Turner, they began looking for a house in the U.K. in Dec. 2022. The search continued through July 2023, when they entered into a contract to purchase a property, but the deal would not be completed until December 2023.

Related: Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner Had Found Their ‘Forever Home’ in England Months Before Split, Turner Says

<p>Getty</p>

Getty

"They have never been residents of the U.K.," the source adds. "Residency is a legal term and that is how the courts will define it. Residency includes things like where you have your driver’s license, where you vote, where your kids go to school, where you last lived as a family for a significant period of time (specifically 6 months)."

In 2021, Turner and Jonas had purchased and completely redecorated a family residence in Miami. They listed it for sale in April 2023 and sold the property for $15 million in August.

Referencing this property, the source continued, "There is no place the family lived for 6 months or longer other than Florida. Intention, expressed in a letter or otherwise, does not equal residency. Actions do. And so while the letter was inserted in the motion in order to pique the attention of reporters, it won’t actually be material to determine legal residency."

<p>Swan Gallet/WWD/Penske Media via Getty</p>

Swan Gallet/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

Currently, the couple must keep their daughters in the Southern and Eastern districts of New York, per an interim consent order filed on Monday. The new filing comes after Turner sued Jonas last week for wrongful retention of the couple's kids, claiming that he was withholding their passports.

Shortly after Turner filed her complaint, Jonas released a statement disputing her claims and saying that he believed the two had reached an agreement to work on a co-parenting plan.

Jonas filed for divorce from Turner after 4 years of marriage on September 5. The filing claims "the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken." The couple first connected through Instagram DMs in 2016 and married in 2019.

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