Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith seemed like an intriguing couple from the get-go, but as their relationship developed, the warning signs became hard to ignore. Now, with the recent news that Jodie has filed for divorce from the former Dawson’s Creek star, it’s hardly a shock. This relationship appeared rocky from the beginning.
Their story began in June 2018 at a party. Jodie wore a shirt with a bold statement, and Joshua, as he shared with Mr. Porter, shouted a comment about it from across the room. It wasn’t the smoothest move, but it got Jodie’s attention. “That was easy,” she told W magazine. Recognizing Joshua as Pacey from Dawson’s Creek, her childhood crush, she thought, “Huh, I want that Gone Girl.” Despite his awkward approach, Joshua’s persistence paid off, and by the end of the night, they were off on a romantic adventure together.
Two years after ending his 10-year relationship with Diane Kruger, Joshua wasn’t ready for anything serious. But love caught him by surprise. He described his relationship with Jody as a whirlwind romance, and on Thanksgiving 2018, he told her he loved her for the first time. During a New Year’s Eve vacation in Nicaragua, while walking on the beach, Jody proposed to Joshua.
More and more women in heterosexual relationships are breaking tradition by proposing to their partners, although it’s still rare. According to The Atlantic, 97 percent of grooms report being the ones who proposed. Joshua was surprised when Jody asked him to be her groom. “Did you see that coming?” “I didn’t, but she was determined, and she was right. It’s the best decision I ever made.” “Well, it’s okay.”
Pressuring someone into marriage rarely ends well, and being on the receiving end of such a demand can feel uncomfortable. Both partners need to be fully committed to the idea of marriage. Agreeing to get married for any other reason can lead to resentment and an unhappy marriage.
Even though something felt off, Joshua accepted the Queen & Slim star’s proposal. But he couldn’t shake the feeling, so he insisted on asking Jody’s biological father and stepfather for their blessing before getting married. “I want to repropose the old-fashioned way, on one knee,” he told her. “That’s right.”
When the news broke that Jody had proposed to Joshua, he told Refinery29 that she faced a lot of online hate. “You wouldn’t believe the things people were saying on her Instagram,” Joshua said. “She proposed, I said yes, we’re happy. That’s all that matters. Chill out, okay, Pacey?” He admitted that he never wanted to get married or felt ready to be a husband, but meeting Jody changed that. “It just felt right.”
But was Joshua just settling for Jody because he was getting older, or was he truly in love? And what was it about Joshua that made Jody so crazy about him? She told Forbes that she felt incredibly loved and supported by him. “I had never been with anyone who made me feel as uplifted as he does,” she said. “Okay, girl.”
On June 11th, 2019, Joshua celebrated his 41st birthday at a restaurant. Just two days later, he was spotted pulling down a mystery woman in an LAX parking lot. Oh, hell no!
Neither Joshua nor Jody addressed the situation publicly, quickly moving on from the scandal. Fast forward two months, and the couple was seen outside the Beverly Hills courthouse, obtaining a marriage license. When photos of this surfaced online, Jody told People magazine that there was a wave of backlash about her marrying a white man. She remarked, “In America, interracial dating or marriage is not widely accepted. Both communities have strong feelings against it. I felt this resistance from the Black community.”
Despite the criticism, Jody was determined to marry her love without a prenuptial agreement. “No prenup.” They tied the knot in a private ceremony in December 2019. By January 2020, Jody’s baby bump was already noticeable. She confided in Look magazine that she had always been resistant to becoming a mother, wanting any future children to be Black so she could affirm them with the love she felt she had never received from the outside world. So, what made her decide to have a baby with a white man? Jody explained, “Deciding not to have a child with someone you love just because they’re white was insane to me.”
Joshua had never planned on getting married, and Jody never wanted children unless they were Black. It seemed like they wanted completely different things out of life. Yet, sometimes love can override these differences, and it did for Joshua and Jody. But we already know how this story is going to end.
In April 2020, she welcomed their daughter into the world. Jody, who was born in England to Jamaican parents, told The Sunday Times that she didn’t want to raise her child in the States or her native country. She thought about moving to Canada but ultimately didn’t make any major changes after their daughter’s birth. “Okay, let’s pause for a moment.”
Let’s go back a bit. They met in June 2018, she proposed six months later, they got married a year and a half after meeting, and their daughter was born four months after the wedding. Joshua and Jody went from being strangers to husband and wife, then parents, in record time. What could possibly go wrong?
Sometimes these whirlwind romances work out, but other times, couples realize they rushed into things without building a solid foundation. It’s no surprise they faced challenges behind the scenes. In September 2022, someone noticed Joshua and Jody had unfollowed each other on Instagram. But since they still spoke positively about each other in interviews and attended red carpet events together, people didn’t think much of it.
Then in December 2022, a source told Radar Online that despite appearing like the perfect couple, Joshua and Jody were having small disputes that blew up into big arguments. The insider added that they were very different: Jody enjoyed socializing with friends, while Joshua was more of an introvert. The dynamic between them had changed.
Jody was receiving harsh criticism from people who disapproved of her interracial relationship with Joshua. Joshua told Refinery29 that he was shocked by the ignorant and hateful comments left on Jody’s Instagram. He said that seeing such hate was a real eye-opener for him as a white man. “Class is in session,” he remarked. Joshua also started to notice some of Jody’s unusual interests. “Oh boy, let me sit down for this,” he joked with Variety magazine. He revealed that Jody enjoyed watching his intimate scenes in the movie Fatal Attraction. “Jody kind of likes them, actually. It’s weird; she’s like a voyeur. But hey, if that’s your thing, more power to you.”
On September 13, 2023, they quietly separated, and in October 2023, Jody filed for divorce after nearly four years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. She’s asking for joint custody of their daughter and wants the court to waive both their rights to spousal support. Given all the red flags we’ve seen over the years, it’s not too shocking their relationship ended. Honestly, we’re surprised they lasted as long as they did.