Drake Bell is proceeding with his divorce from estranged wife Janet Von Schmeling two years after she initiated their separation.
Bell, 39, filed for divorce in Seminole County, Florida, on Thursday, August 14, TMZ and Entertainment Weekly reported.
“The process began back in 2023 when his wife filed citing irreconcilable differences,” Bell’s manager, Juan José Rovirosa, said in a statement to EW. “At this stage, both of them are simply concluding that legal process. Their priority remains the safety and well-being of their son, and they are doing so from a place of love and respect — closing a beautiful chapter of their lives that now evolves into a different form of love and complicity, always centered on their child’s best interests.”
“At this time, Mr. Bell and his wife would like privacy as they transition into this new phase of their life,” the actor’s attorney, Brittany Staggs, added to TMZ.
Von Schmeling filed for divorce from the Nickelodeon alum in April 2023 after four years of marriage. She said the couple had been separated since September 2022. The filing came just days after Bell was declared missing and later found by police in Daytona Beach, Florida.
At the time, Von Schmeling sought primary legal and physical custody of the couple’s son, Wyatt, 4, but requested that Bell retain visitation rights.
Von Schmeling also sought spousal support in her filing.
Bell tied the knot with Von Schmeling in 2018; however, he didn’t announce the marriage — nor the arrival of son Wyatt — until June 2021.
“In response to various rumors that are incorrect, I have been married for almost 3 years, and we are blessed to be the parents of a wonderful son. Thank you very much to all my fans around the world for your good wishes,” Bell shared in an X post.
In February, Von Schmeling revealed via Instagram that she is expecting her second child with current partner Jim Perez. “Our Rainbow Baby 🌈 September cannot come sooner ❤️,” she wrote alongside a copy of an ultrasound scan.
In June, Bell’s ex paid tribute to Perez in an Instagram post for Father’s Day, detailing his bond with Wyatt.
“He chose us… In the big ways, in the quiet moments, and all the in-betweens. He became the man Wyatt and I didn’t know we needed… And now, we’re counting down the days until our baby girl gets to be with her daddy too. 💞,” Von Schmeling wrote.
She added, “Happy (early) Father’s Day to the man who showed up with love and never looked back. 💙.”
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