Sophie Turner's marriage ended in an instant. Then the world tried to take her reputation too.

Sophie Turner spent her twenties growing up in the public eye — and then falling apart in it.

The British actor, who shot to global fame at just 13 when she was cast as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, has lived much of her adult life under a microscope. But nothing prepared her for the scrutiny that followed the breakdown of her marriage to Joe Jonas — or the wave of mum shaming that came with it.

Now, as she prepares to turn 30 in February, Turner says she wants just one thing: quiet.

"I just want to have some peace in my thirties," she told Porter. "I feel like it's been really hectic for a long time and I'm ready to not have that anymore. Just settle a bit. We'll see if that happens."

For a decade, Turner was synonymous with Game of Thrones.

From her early teens into adulthood, audiences watched her grow up on screen — a rare and often unforgiving way to come of age. But despite the intensity of that chapter, her personal life once appeared comparatively steady.

She met Jonas in 2016 after the Jonas Brothers frontman sent her a message on Instagram. He was 27, she was 20.

The relationship moved quickly, and by May 2019, they had eloped in Las Vegas, before hosting a more traditional wedding in Paris the following month.

Image: Instagram/@sophiet.

By July 2022, they were parents to two daughters: Willa, now five, and Delphine, three.

From the outside, the relationship looked solid — even charmed. 

As recently as August 2023, Jonas publicly praised Turner during the Jonas Brothers' tour in New York, dedicating a song to her from the stage and calling her his 'rock'.

Less than a month later, he filed for divorce.

Listen: The Smear Campaign Against Sophie Turner Has Begun. Post continues below.

In September 2023, the fairytale ended after four years of marriage. In court documents obtained by USA Today, Jonas described the marriage as "irretrievably broken". 

The following day, the pair released a joint Instagram statement saying they had "mutually" and "amicably" decided to separate.

But the tone of the public narrative shifted quickly — and not in Turner's favour.

Initial reports of the split, first circulated by TMZ, sparked intense speculation about Turner's fitness as a mother. 

At the time, she was in the UK filming Joan, while Jonas was caring for their children in the US. Anonymous sources suggested Turner "liked to party", while Jonas was framed as the stable, stay-at-home parent.

"It's a total fishbowl. And people take so much as fact these days," Turner told Porter.

"You feel like you're gagged because silence is always the way to let something die out. But it means that you can't stand up for yourself ever, so there's a feeling of helplessness and shame."

Image: Instagram/@sophiet

Paparazzi photos of Jonas alone with the children dominated headlines, reinforcing a "doting dad" storyline. 

However, Turner had spent years trying to keep her daughters away from the cameras. 

While she was working to support her family, her physical distance was interpreted as emotional absence. 

The label 'bad mum' was slapped on her, and the verdict was swift.

The experience left a lasting mark. Speaking in May 2024, Turner addressed the speculation head-on, denying the claims and calling it "the worst few days of [her] life".

She says she still carries shame from that period — and actively avoids engaging with online commentary.

"I don't read the internet, I don't look myself up, otherwise that would absolutely kill me," she told Porter.

Instead, she focuses on what she calls "stuff that actually matters" — namely, her children. But that doesn't mean the guilt ever disappears.

"The mum guilt is there forever," Turner said. "I work all week and then, on the weekends, I'll spend all day with my kids each day. But if I go out for lunch with a friend, I will run back home because my heart is sinking that I've left them."

The divorce was finalised in September 2024, with a confidential settlement. The children now split their time between England, where Turner lives, and the US, where Jonas is based. Reports that the couple had once planned to buy a family home in the UK never materialised.

Watch: Sophie Turner's controversial Game of Thrones tattoo.

Professionally, however, Turner is entering a new era. She's set to star as Lara Croft in Prime Video's upcoming Tomb Raider series, created and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, alongside a slate of other projects, including the heist thriller Steal.

As she begins 2026, her career momentum is undeniable.

Balancing that workload with parenting hasn't left much room for anything else.

"I mean, I haven't seen my friends or gone on a date in weeks, months!" she laughed.

"I just sack off parts of my life sometimes. I only have the capacity for work and family right now. But I'm working on it. I'll get there."

Image: Instagram/@sophiet

Still, Turner says she's proud her daughters can see her working hard — and believes being a role model means staying connected to her own sense of self.

"That's the good thing about having a relatively hard twenties: I learnt that I can survive a lot," she said.

As she looks toward the next decade, her goals are less about reinvention and more about reclamation.

"I'm looking forward to knowing myself better, knowing my boundaries and [having] a little more autonomy over my own life."

After everything she's endured, peace isn't just a wish for Sophie Turner — it's a boundary.

Featured image: Getty.