Sophie Turner & Joe Jonas Divorce Rumors Stir Up A Tired Parenting Double Standard

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner might be headed for divorce after four years of marriage. Neither of them have confirmed or denied the reports shared by several media outlets, which could mean that they are not actually true. He did, after all, post that picture of himself wearing his wedding ring hours after reports started circulating. But if the divorce rumors are true, the couple will have to find a way to co-parent the two daughters they share, 3-year-old Willa and their 1-year-old daughter whose name they have not yet shared. Regardless of what the future holds for Jonas and Turner, there are a whole lot of people on social media who are not impressed with the old-fashioned double standards that are circulating in reports about the couple’s divorce. And for good reason.

Over the weekend, TMZ was the first to report that Jonas had retained a divorce lawyer, citing unnamed “sources” who told the outlet that “over the last three months, Joe has been caring for their two young children ‘pretty much all of the time,’ even as his band was touring.” The report added, “We’re told Joe currently has both kids, as the group plays around the U.S.”

Turner is currently in the UK filming Joan, a new British television series for ITVX about a a 1980s jewel thief, and many social media users are calling out the fact that, if the roles were reversed and Turner was the one caring for the couple’s children while her husband was on tour, no one would be mentioning it at all.

Another pointed out that Jonas is currently on a concert tour with other members of his family, so perhaps it’s not exactly a struggle for him to have his children with him.

Another social media user noted that Turner’s major role in Joan is her first in years, so of course the father of her children should be responsible for them. They wondered if he might be mad that it’s his “turn.”

Another pointed out that the couple had reportedly been experiencing problems in their marriage for six months, and the dad of two has only been primary caregiver for three months.

Indeed, the fact that Turner’s time with their children was completely overshadowed by Jonas spending three months with them did not go unnoticed.

In short, everyone is pretty tired of fathers being praised for doing the bare minimum while mothers are constantly being held to a much higher standard. Turner, of course, is not the first celebrity to be at the center of the ever-present double standard between working moms and dads. Mom of two Olivia Wilde has called out the attacks on her character if she was ever perceived to be away from her kids with the oft-repeated line, “How dare she?” Kristen Bell once noted that her husband Dax Shepard is never asked how he “balances” being a dad with a career, while it constantly comes up with her. And Megan Fox once noted that people have questioned her about where her kids are if she’s out for the night, as though they don’t have another parent who is more than capable of caring for them.

It’s a refrain non-celebrity moms know all too well. The double standard of expectations between working moms and dads. The constant juggling act that society puts on mothers to “do it all” while praising dads for doing anything. Still. In 2023.