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Nickelodeon child star Drake Bell files for divorce three years after split
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has filed for divorce from wife Janet Von Schmeling.
The 39-year-old actor filed a petition in Seminole County, Florida on Thursday, according to TMZ.
It comes after Von Schmeling initially filed to end the marriage in Los Angeles Superior Court in April 2023, citing their date of separation as September 2022.
She requested primary legal and physical custody of their only child, four-year-old son Wyatt, while asking the court to grant Bell visitation rights.
And the actress — who has since moved on with Jim Perez — additionally requested spousal support.
Von Schmeling is now expecting her second child, and her first with Perez.
She announced the pregnancy on Instagram in February, sharing a sonogram and the caption, 'Our Rainbow Baby. September cannot come sooner ❤️.'
The term 'rainbow baby' refers to a child who is born to a woman who previously suffered a miscarriage.
This past Father's Day the soon-to-be mother-of-two paid tribute to her new beau in a social media post.
She uploaded video footage of him spending time with Wyatt and wrote in the caption, '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. Happy (early) Father's Day to the man who showed up with love and never looked back.'
Von Schmeling, whose Instagram profile describes her as a producer, first made her relationship with Perez public in October 2023.
They split their time between California and Florida.
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A post shared by Janet Von Schmeling (@planetjanettv)
Bell and Von Schmeling's separation was made public in January 2023, with his estranged wife filing for divorce that April.
They began dating in 2013 and got married in 2018.
At the time of their separation, insiders revealed to Page Six that he had entered 'treatment' weeks after he was seen huffing a balloon in the front seat of his parked car while their son slept in the backseat.
Bell, who is known for his roles on Drake & Josh and appearances on The Amanda Show, was reportedly inflating and deflating the balloon for more than thirty minutes outside his home.
In July 2021 he was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community after pleading guilty to child endangerment charges.
Authorities said a 15-year-old girl attended one of his concerts in Cleveland in 2017 and contacted Toronto police in October 2018 about being sexually assaulted by him.
Toronto authorities then forwarded their findings to Cleveland police, prompting an investigation.
It was discovered that Bell and the teen had 'developed a relationship' online prior to the concert, during which he sent her 'inappropriate social media messages.'
