Motherhood, age and class: Why Sophie Turner's baby exposes generation gap

Joe Jonas, left, and Sophie Turner are now proud parents. Photo / AP

When Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner announced that she and husband Joe Jonas had welcomed their first child, Willa, into the world earlier this week they were flooded with messages of support and love.

But behind the scenes, many have shared that the glamour couple's happy news has left them questioning their own lives.

While Jonas is 30, Turner is a spring chicken at 24 and her age prompted many to compare themselves to the young star.

I will never get over the fact that sophie turner and I are the same age but she’s pregnant with joe jonas’s child and i am single as a pringle

— jenny🦋 (@_jennylf) May 12, 2020

Sophie Turner is a mom at 24,also because she can afford having a child and then there's me, can't even afford myself 😤😤😤

— Vagmi (@Vagmi26) July 28, 2020

''

joe jonas is having a baby with sophie turner whom is the same age as me pic.twitter.com/QsdNm8EsMc

— kat (@katherineee_16) February 12, 2020

Others questioned whether this grown-ass woman, who has already had a successful career in one of the most popular series on the modern era and has proven that she can hold her own in Hollywood, is "too young" to have a baby.

Sophie Turner is only two years younger than me and I’m still like “she had a BABY?! SHE’S SO YOUNG” which, of course, says a lot about me and my idea of having a child

— Kristen (@kristenthemums) July 27, 2020

i'm happy for sophie turner but the thought of having a child at 24 is terrifying imagine having your shit together like that

— iana murray (@ianamurray) July 27, 2020

While having a baby in your early 20s or younger was once the norm, the average age of first-time mums has been trending up over recent decades.

Writing in the Guardian, Sirin Kale noted that this shift was most marked in professionals.

"This trend is particularly pronounced among professionals, where the average age of mothers is between 31.7 and 33.5."

Economic instability may be behind the shift, with young women not feeling secure enough to start their families young.

So for Turner and Jonas, both independently wealthy to an eye-watering degree, economic concerns don't factor in.

Some were quick to point that out.

fortunately she is rich

— cassidy xcx (@olsencassidy) July 27, 2020

Unsurprisingly, having a fair bit of money helps in this situation too

— Irene Musumeci Klein (@byronic) July 27, 2020

So like the very human desire to reproduce, our innate need to pick over and tear down the lives of others has been brought to the fore by the young star's baby news.

Can't we just congratulate them?