books for – Jodie Turner-Smith says the “right tool” for helping her 6-year-old daughter understand her divorce from Joshua Jackson has been books—along with careful, age-appropriate language as they navigate co-parenting in two homes filled with love.
Jodie Turner-Smith didn’t start with the big questions. She started with the words.
On Monday. the British actor said that when she and Joshua Jackson began preparing to explain their divorce to their 6-year-old daughter. they had to choose the right language for something that is now the child’s “new reality.” The conversation. Turner-Smith said on Hoda Kotb’s podcast. has been as much about sensitivity as it is about honesty—especially because their daughter was very young when the split began.
Turner-Smith described her method as deliberate and ongoing. “It’s always been important to think about, OK, what is the language around which we are going to talk about this with our daughter,” she told Kotb. “Because this is her new reality, you know?”
The couple married in 2019 and welcomed their daughter in 2020. They separated two years earlier and finalized their divorce in 2025.
Turner-Smith said she and Jackson, both of whom “come from divorced families,” have been learning as they go. But the goal is consistent: “two homes filled with love.” She boiled the message down in a way a child could hold. “I’m like, you’ve got two houses, girl,” she said.
Books became her most trusted aid. Turner-Smith said she has read her daughter “so many books about divorce,” adding that “Children’s books have been helpful as well.” She also called them her “favorite tool in all of this,” describing it as her “favorite tool for life.”
For her, the hardest part wasn’t managing other people’s reactions. It was keeping the balance between what’s appropriate for a child and what’s real enough that her daughter understands what the changes mean.
“You’ve got to walk this line between obviously being age-appropriate and child-centered in the way that you talk about it. but also keeping it real so that she has an understanding of what this means. ” Turner-Smith said. “Honestly, my favorite tool in all of this has been my favorite tool for life: books.”.
Her comments also landed alongside other celebrity reflections on co-parenting. In 2024. Donna Kelce said she and her now ex-husband decided to postpone their divorce until their kids. Jason and Travis Kelce. finished college. explaining. “We worked together as a team. ” and. “So we decided that we would be married throughout the entire time that the kids were in the house. and that’s the way it worked out.”.
In 2025. Bethanny Frankel said she made a point of never badmouthing her ex-husband. Jason Hoppy. to their daughter despite their messy divorce. Frankel said, “It’s a long road. Your kids will become cognizant, and they will understand. You don’t have to say it to them. You don’t have to prove it to them.” She added: “You should never ever say a bad thing about the other parent ever. because it is the worst thing you could do to a child.”.
Jodie Turner-Smith Joshua Jackson divorce co-parenting books children’s books Hoda Kotb Joy 101
Wait so she’s saying books helped her kid understand the divorce? honestly that sounds nice.
If they’re co-parenting in two homes filled with love, why do people still act like divorce is always messy? Like it’s 2026, just do it right or don’t.
I feel like “books” are just PR for the podcast. Didn’t Joshua Jackson do something recently too? Maybe the books are to distract from the real reason they split.
My cousin did this with her kid, but she used like worksheets and stuff, not actual books. Also, kids at 6 don’t even get “divorce,” they just think one parent is mad. So I’m kinda confused how much language helps unless they talk every day. I guess two houses filled with love is the goal though, like cool… but other people’s reactions are gonna react regardless.