'I had to get out': Sophie Turner reveals her exit from America was partly prompted by Uvalde shooting

LONDON, ENGLAND: Like a Hollywood fairytale, Sophie Turner's career arc spans from child actor to major role, marriage, and parenthood. Prepared to light up screens once again, the star discusses her decision to leave America for the first time since her divorce from Joe Jonas.

The 'Game of Thrones' actor stated in an interview with British Vogue that one of the reasons she chose to leave the country was the 2022 mass shooting that occurred at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Lax US gun control laws led Sophie Turner to move back to Britain

An 18-year-old gunman stormed Robb Elementary in May 2022 and killed 19 students and two teachers. It took over 400 law enforcement officers 77 minutes to confront and kill the gunman on that particular day.

According to Everytown Research, Texas does not have strict gun regulations. Even after Uvalde, the bloodiest shooting at a Texas public school, lawmakers in the United States are still unable to enact meaningful gun control legislation.

A month later, the states were given the authority to determine whether or not a pregnant woman could have an abortion, overturning the Americans' constitutional right to an abortion. Abortion is currently illegal or severely restricted in about half of the states, per HuffPost.

Speaking to Vogue, the British actor stated in the feature released on Wednesday, May 15, "I couldn’t fathom being a mother of one of those children, knowing that this was something your country could fix, that they’d rather have rights to guns than give kids a right to life."

"Meanwhile, women in the US are being stripped of their rights, left, right, and center. It all contributed to this feeling of I have to get out, I have to get out," Turner added.

Turner returned to her UK residence just before she and her ex-husband, American singer Joe Jonas, announced their divorce in late 2023.

In the interview with British Vogue, Turner also opened up about her split with Jonas and how she didn't enjoy being treated like Joe Jonas' wife when they were together.

Sophie Turner previously said she needed to return to the UK for her mental health

The 'Game of Thrones' star and her ex-husband Joe Jonas were reportedly getting ready to file for divorce when Turner expressed her desire to return to her own country.

In a May 2022 interview with Elle UK, Turner expressed how much she missed England.

"The people, the attitude, everything. I’m slowly dragging my husband back. I really love living in America but, for my mental health, I have to be around my friends and my family," she said.

"And also for my daughter ― I would love her to get the education and school life that I was so lucky to have," the actor continued, adding that she was expecting her second child.

"England would ideally be the final destination, but [Joe] might take quite a bit of convincing!" she added.

In 2017, Turner and Jonas became engaged at the ages of 21 and 28, respectively. Later, they exchanged vows in two different ceremonies in 2019.

The couple has two daughters together - Willa was born in 2020, while the other daughter was born in July 2023. The name of their second child is yet to be made public.