Nickelodeon star files for divorce from pregnant wife after 4 years of marriage
The actor and his wife have reportedly been separated since 2022.
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has reportedly filed for divorce after four years of marriage.
The Drake and Josh star, 39, dated actress and model Janet Von Schmeling for five years before getting married in 2018.
During their four-year marriage, Bell and Schmeling had son Wyatt together, born in 2021. Janet is currently pregnant with her first baby with her new partner Jim Perez.
In 2023, she filed for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’ According to TMZ at the time, she requested legal and physical custody of their son, as well as spousal support and visitation rights for Bell.
The publication suggests that there was ‘no movement’ in the case until last year, when the court reportedly requested both parties to meet to expedite proceedings.
TMZ claim that Bell has filed for divorce himself, putting in his own petition from Florida.
Bell and Janet Von Schmeling were married in 2018 (Picture: Shutterstock) Bell is said to have been separated from his wife since 2022 (Picture: WWD/REX)The couple are said to have been separated since 2022.
According to Bell, he first found out that his wife planned to divorce him via social media.
When the news broke on TMZ in 2023, he tweeted: ‘I found out my wife filed for divorce from TMZ…check out my new song.’
Bell and Schmeling share one son together (Picture: WireImage)This came only a week after he had been reported missing and ‘endangered’ by Daytona Beach Police.
Hours later, a spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘At this time we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr Bell is safe.’
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office added that the actor had been found in their jurisdiction ‘unharmed’ at around 11.30am, and deputies had taken action to make sure he received a ‘mental health evaluation’.
Bell joked about the situation afterwards, Tweeting: ‘You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?’
The actor alleges that he found out about his divorce via social media (Picture: Getty Images)Bell has experienced a troubled personal life since leaving Nickelodeon.
In 2021, he was accused of having inappropriate conversations with a 15-year-old online that were sexual in nature.
During the subsequent hearing, the actor pleaded guilty to the attempted endangerment of children, a fourth-degree felony, and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a first-degree misdemeanour.
Bell starred in Drake & Josh opposite co-star Josh Peck (Picture: Getty Images)After someone on social media branded him a sex offender, Bell responded: ‘Do a second of research. This is what I have to live with everyday. They are literally going to kill me.’
In another tweet, he added: ‘In a separate tweet he added: ‘Noooo Immmm Nooooooottttt [a paedophile]!!!! You people are going to kill me.’
He went on to tell another user: ‘Nooooo I wasn’t!! You people are destroying my life.’
Last year the actor came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against his former dialogue coach (Picture: Getty Images)Last year, the former child star came forward to allege that he was himself a victim of sexual abuse by dialogue coach and now-convicted sex offender Brian Peck.
In the Investigation Discovery series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,Bell claimed that he had been 15 years old when the abuse happened.
Peck worked as a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show, which Bell had starred in from 1999 to 2002.
