Sophie Turner talks divorce fallout, eating disorders, and her Game of Thrones castmates

Most people came to know Sophie Turner through her role as Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, where she was a main player for all eight seasons. “I went from 13 to 23 on that show – it was my whole childhood," she told Bazaar for a recent interview. "We’re all still on a massive group chat, and we try and meet each other whenever we’re in the same country... they’re family.”

Turner was only 15 years old when Game of Thrones came out and even younger when she was cast. According to her, pretty much everyone in her school auditioned, but she got the part. “I don’t know how it happened, because my audition tape was absolutely horrific. But, somehow, they ended up casting me.”

That would obviously be very exciting for a young actor just starting their career, but it also meant that Turner grew up in the public eye, which can have adverse effects. “At that age, all I knew was I wanted to act," Turner remembered. "I didn’t even think about my weight or how I looked, it was just, 'This is fun, I get to play every day.' I learnt far too young what I’m supposed to look like, and how I’m supposed to behave. I think that’s how child stars end up being so messed up, because they’re not allowed to make mistakes, and therefore they’re not allowed to grow...”

Insecure about her appearance, Turner developed eating disorders, including bulimia and anorexia. “What a whopper of an eating disorder that was!” she laughed wryly. “It still affects me. I don’t think it ever leaves you, I think you just try to learn to manage it. If I see a plate of food, I still feel a little bit of dread. But the great thing about being a mother is that I get to teach my kids how to have a healthy relationship with their bodies, which feels like a justice to myself.”

In the end, Turner came out the other side of Game of Thrones ready for more, but she'll always be grateful to the show. She even wants to get her fading direwolf tattoo reinked. “That will stay forever. I wish it wasn’t so massive, but you make mistakes, don’t you?”

Sophie Turner talks separating from Joe Jonas

Turner continued to work after Game of Thrones, although she was in the news most for her personal life. She married singer Joe Jonas in 2019. Together the couple had two daughters, but they divorced in 2023. “I’m going through a legal process right now where I can’t really say much, but it was incredibly sad. We had a beautiful relationship, and it was hard,” Turner said.

When they were together, Turner and Jonas lived mostly in the United States, but Turner has since moved back to her native England. “I’m so happy to be back. It felt as if my life was on pause until I returned to England,” she said. “I just never really feel like myself when I’m not in London, with my friends and family. I was away for so long – six years – and it was when my friends were getting engaged, and when I got pregnant. I went for dinner with someone the other day, and she said,‘I never got to touch your belly.’We didn’t have those key experiences with each other.”

It doesn't sound like Turner ever gave up on returning to England during her stay in the U.S. “Every city we ended up in, the first thing I’d do was find a British shop and stock up on a month’s worth of chocolate,” she said. But she also wanted to head back to her home country after watching the political situation in the U.S. develop. “The gun violence, Roe v Wade being overturned... Everything just kind of piled on. After the Uvalde [school] shooting, I knew it was time to get the fuck out of there.”

How motherhood has changed Sophie Turner

Now 28, Turner is doubling down on her work. She's gotten praise for her performance in Joan, where she plays real-life jewel thief Joan Hannington, and has lots of projects coming up. That includes a horror movie where she'll reunite with Game of Thrones costar Kit Harington as well as a film called Trust, where she plays an actress embroiled in a high-profile internet scandal. “That one really mirrored my life from this past year, and it was a very cathartic experience for me,” she said. “It was a chance to let out some serious anger, which was fun. So that felt right for me to do.”

The focus on work is on account of her kids, who have given her a new purpose in life. "Before I had kids, I was very depressed and anxious, and I would isolate [myself] a lot. Now, I think I live my life for them," Turner said. "I want them to see me having a social life and enjoying work and thriving in my career and relationships. I want them to see a hard-working mum. I’ll come back and say, ‘This is why Mummy was away – it’s because she’s doing this for you, so Father Christmas can come with a big bundle of presents.’”

For the record, Turner's daughters haven't seen much of her work, which makes sense; no children should be watching Game of Thrones. "Well, I did one episode of a little cartoony kids show and showed it to them, and they didn’t want to know. It’s good, because I don’t want them to be like, ‘Wow, Mum’s on TV!’ I just tell them I play dress-up for a living.”

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