Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner split: Valuable marriage advice from celebrity divorce

A week ago, Joe Jonas told fans at a Jonas Brothers concert not to believe the rumors about a split from actress Sophie Turner. Celebrities can inspire us at the best of times, they can also teach us a lot about what not to do when it comes to relationships. Alright, from Joe to Matthew McConaughey and Howard Stern, a number of relationship stories are in the entertainment headlines and joining us now is Jessica O'Reilly to break them down. Jessica, good to see you. Good morning. We're here to talk about the lessons, right? We're not here to gossip, we're not here to add fuel to the fire, but I think there's so much to learn from talking about other scenarios as limited as the information may be. Alright, well let's start with Joe. You just saw in that clip there that he and his wife Sophie Turner posting a bit of a united message announcing their split, but there's been rumors about the relationship that Joe was addressing in that clip. What is your take on all of that, Jess? Oh my gosh, there are so many lessons here. One is we need to just not talk about other people's business. We need to not believe all that nonsense. You know, there's some stuff around, you know, for example, not feeling that you always have to explain yourself to people, so obviously these folks are celebrities, but all of us within our kind of smaller circles often feel we have to rationalize our decisions around relationships, which by the way, we don't. And I'll tell you, from somebody who sees, you know, kind of behind the scenes, under the covers, in, you know, so many intimate relationships, people stay together in unhealthy situations because of the shame, because of the stigma, and we don't always have to live up to the expectations or societal pressures from others. We have to do what feels safe and right for us. Okay, let's move to another tricky topic, and that's about in-laws. Yeah. Matthew McConaughey's wife, Camilla, recently admitted that his mother tried to test her by calling her names of his exes. There's so much there, isn't it? I mean, that's a kind of more clear-cut scenario where you don't deserve to be tested, you don't deserve to be, you know, have somebody play games with you. If somebody is pushing you, you absolutely have the right to stand up for yourself. Now I know she said she had no problem standing up. She really kind of unleashed while they were away on a trip together, but if you don't feel comfortable standing up to your in-laws, I think the first thing to do is enlist the support of your partner. That is their family, they know the history, they know those personalities, and I think, you know, from the last conversation, we didn't even get to the idea of, you know, presenting United Front, but I think that's important for couples, whether they're together or whether they're divorcing, to kind of work together as a team because that's what you are, and I'm glad it all worked out for her. You know, some of us are lucky, we have good in-laws, and I mean, all people are good people, but I think sometimes it takes some navigation, and it's worth the effort. Some people just throw their hands up in the air and say, oh, we don't get along, or we're from different backgrounds, but it's worth putting the effort in because the family isn't just the people you live together with, right? It's more of a community. Sure. Yeah, absolutely. And you hit the nail on the head in, as you said, in both scenarios, and even when it comes to divorce, and when it comes to anything, being together, being a United Front, whether you're splitting or you're staying together, that is key through it all. Absolutely, right? And not just for the sake of other people, but for the sake of yourselves, right? You've loved each other at some point in time, or you love each other now, and the thing with divorcing couples, you probably will love each other again, even in a different way, right? Mm-hmm. Okay, let's shift focus, and next we're going to talk about kind of health, safety, and COVID, of course, with the fall approaching is back in the headlines, and Howard Stern recently said that he and his wife are still fighting over safety measures, Jess. He is 69, she's 18 years younger. Her social plans amid the crisis have led to their fighting. Just how relatable is all of this in 2023? You know, I think that if you asked us three years ago would we still be talking about this, we would have said absolutely not, but we absolutely are, and I can tell you that this is super common with couples, with families, with friends, that we're still not all on the same page, because there is no one-size-fits-all approach this far into the scenario. What I think is most important in all relationships is that we are cultivating discussions, not making declarations, so discussions over declarations. So it's not as simple as the pandemic's over, because that's sort of, you know, a way to start with judgment, or you're putting people at risk. Okay, how about we just have a conversation around why I feel I want to wear a mask, or why I want to take certain precautions. You know, I got off a flight yesterday, and there are a ton of people still wearing masks. Not only because of COVID, but because when we're travelling, maybe we don't want to pick up the cold or flu, because we want to arrive refreshed, and I don't think we have to justify why we make choices to strangers, but in intimate relationships, in familiar relationships, don't you want to help them to understand, rather than just saying, this is who I am? And I want to quickly say that pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, there were people who have had to worry about their health, immunocompromised people, who have worried about these things. So these issues and relationships actually did pre-exist the pandemic, but the pandemic, of course, had them bubbling to the surface, and we're still seeing that runoff today. All right, we're going to leave it there. Jess, thank you so much. Great to see you both. Good to see you. Thank you.