Drake Bell says he learned wife, Janet Von Schmeling, wanted divorce from media
Troubled child star Drake Bell said he learned his wife, Janet Von Schmeling, was seeking a divorce after reading about it online.
“I found out my wife filed for divorce from TMZ,” Bell tweeted in the early hours of Friday. He then posted a link to a YouTube clip of his new song, Go away.
“I know exactly what you’re going to do with all that shit you said wasn’t true. When will everyone get the idea that we’re not the same,’ sings 36-year-old Bell. It is unclear what inspired the track.
The video shows Bell sitting in the first class cabin of a 1960s plane. The trip descends into debauchery as the passengers get drunk as they take turns performing for each other.
Von Schmeling, 28, said in court documents that she and the actor initially separated in September 2022.
News of the divorce came a week after Bell went missing in South Florida after allegedly threatening to commit suicide. He was later found unharmed
Last week, child star Drake Bell was reported missing by Florida police in Daytona Beach
Bell’s said the reason behind the breakup after four years of marriage is irreconcilable differences, the outlet reported.
The couple are the parents of one-year-old son Wyatt Bell, whom Von Schmeling is seeking primary legal and physical custody of.
Von Schmeling said she is open to Bell receiving a visit from their son as part of a divorce settlement.
The news comes a week after the actor took to Twitter on April 13 to express his dismay at the widespread news that his family had reported him missing, and officials issued an alert saying he was missing and in danger.
“You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer it all night?” Bell wrote on Twitter, wearing a face with an accompanying tears of joy emoji.
The Newport Beach, California-born performer was reported missing by family before being found by police in Florida around 1 p.m. ET on April 13.
The Nickelodeon alum ’caused concern’ among family before being reported missing – and found by police hours later, a source told USA weekly.
The source said: “There was some communication with relatives that was a concern, so they are concerned about him and are looking for him.”
The insider said some of his relatives didn’t even know he was in Florida, where his estranged wife Von Schemling lives with their toddler son.
Bell was spotted out in public on Tuesday while traveling to SeaWorld in Orlando with his son.
Von Schmeling said that the reason behind the breakup after four years of marriage is irreconcilable differences. Pictured in 2017 in LA
A fan told TMZ that when he greeted the actor, he was “nice and gentle, but seemed okay.”
The Daytona Beach Police Department previously confirmed, “At this time, we can confirm that law enforcement is in contact and that Mr. Bell is safe.”
The alarming turn of events comes after years of erratic behavior, including multiple DUI arrests and pleading guilty to attempted endangerment charges [of] children and the distribution of substances harmful to young people, for which he received a probationary period of two years.
In January, Bell reportedly entered treatment for weeks after appearing to suck on a balloon in the front seat of his parked car for more than thirty minutes outside his home — with his son in the car.
Soon after, the star and his wife Von Schmeling, also an actress, separated, with the latter moving to Florida with their son Jeremy.
The former child star was then spotted running errands in his Los Angeles neighborhood on Friday, driving to a local vape shop.
He entered the store alone, wearing a black t-shirt and black pants with black sneakers, before re-emerging several minutes later with a shopping bag.
In December, DailyMail.com revealed exclusive photos of Bell, best known for his roles on Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show, inhaling inflated balloons in the front seat of his parked car outside his Los Angeles home.
Wearing a basketball hat and sunglasses, he watched him inflate and deflate the pink balloon for over half an hour.