EXCLUSIVE: Danny Masterson and Bijou Phillips had been living APART for five years before he was convicted of rape, divorce documents reveal

Convicted rapist Danny Masterson had been living apart from his wife Bijou Phillips for five years, according to paperwork she filed in their divorce following his 30-year-to-life sentence.

The stunning admission appears to contradict the dedication Phillips showed by standing by her husband’s side during two lengthy court battles and the assumption by many that the divorce was filed to protect the couple’s assets.

In the papers, obtained by DailyMail.com, Phillips is careful to say that the couple’s 9-year-old daughter, Fianna, has been living alone with her mother in Santa Ynez, California, since 2018.

She says she lived with both her and Masterson in their Hollywood complex for the first four years of the little girl’s life. They sold that five-bedroom, four-bath Moorish mansion in 2021 for $6.2 million.

Before his prison sentence, Masterson, 47, had been seen at the Santa Ynez home and it was believed they were living together.

Repeated calls and emails to Phillips’ attorney Peter Lauzon to explain the discrepancy were not returned.

Phillips, 43, filed for divorce Monday from Scientologist Masterson in Santa Barbara, California, 56 miles east of Santa Ynez. She listed the date of the couple’s separation as “TBD (TBD).”

If Phillips had wanted to hide the apparent living arrangements, she could have checked a box saying they were confidential, like many celebrities involved in divorces in California. But her exact address was listed instead.

The couple bought the house in Santa Ynez, a celebrity enclave where Michael Jackson, Olivia Newton John and Bo Derek have lived, in 2016 for $1.27 million. Set in 9.5 hectares, it has a main house with four bedrooms and separate accommodation. for guests and a barn with space for five horses.

Phillips, who appeared devastated when Masterson was sentenced to the tough jail term after being convicted of raping two women, was seen without her wedding ring at a restaurant near the property on Wednesday.

The blonde mom dressed in baggy jeans and a black tank top for an hour-long lunch with a friend and smiled broadly during the outing.

The lunch came less than two days after she filed to end her marriage, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for full custody of her daughter and spousal support.

By contrast, Masterson is currently inmate number 6614941 at the LA County Men’s Central Jail, awaiting a transfer to an as-yet-undecided state prison.

Earlier this week, his devastated mother Carol and younger brother Jordan, 37, were photographed entering the 5,640-capacity lockup in downtown Los Angeles – a two-hour drive from Santa Ynez.

Phillips has yet to visit but supported Masterson during his rape trial and broke down in tears when he heard his sentence before leaving the court through a back door.

Shortly after Masterson’s conviction, friends told DailyMail.com that Phillips still “can’t accept” that the That ’70s Show star is a convicted rapist, while his lawyer Shawn Holley told TMZ he plans to appeal .

A source close to Phillips told DailyMail.com: ‘Bijou’s only positive view on things comes from her confidence in Danny and the appeals process.

‘She continues to insist that she has complete confidence that he never did what he was charged with, she cannot accept that this is true. And she looks forward to the appeals process to see justice done.

‘Danny is convinced that he has done nothing wrong and Bijou believes him. Her other thoughts are a little more frightening and morbid: she doesn’t believe that Danny will hurt himself in prison, but she is very afraid that someone will harm or even kill him, and the stress that puts her on is on his own level of stress. that she has never felt before.

“It’s a nightmare, but she will be by his side and stay present for their daughter.”

Masterson had two trials over the rapes, the first of which ended in a mistrial in November 2022 after another jury was hopelessly deadlocked on all three rape charges.

“He was released on $3.3 million bail in both cases, but that freedom ended with his conviction on two of the charges on May 31.

At his sentencing on September 7, Masterson’s victims tearfully told the courtroom how he had destroyed their lives.

“You are pathetic, crazy and extremely violent and the world is a safer place with you in prison,” said one person, identified as Jane Doe #2, looking directly at the actor, who was dressed in a gray suit and suit with open neck. shirt.

“You are a complete coward and a heartless monster,” Jane Doe #1 added. “I think life in prison is an appropriate sentence.”

His accusers are all former Scientologists and have also taken the actor and the Church of Scientology to civil court, claiming they have been harassed and intimidated since reporting him to police. The church has repeatedly denied that it harassed the victims.

A status hearing on that civil case is scheduled for September 26.

Letters released by the court after the sentencing showed that Phillips, along with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, had written letters to Judge Charlaine Olmedo pleading for leniency.

In hers, Phillips described him as a “life-saving partner” and described how he had “toiled long hours” on their ranch to make it profitable.

She concluded, “We need him more than you can imagine. I know he has been convicted of serious crimes.

“But the man I married has been nothing but an extraordinary husband to me and a devoted father to our daughter.”

Kutcher and Kunis, who married in 2015, issued a groveling apology after being vilified for their support of Masterson. They had described him as an ‘exceptional person’.

Both previously starred with him in That 70s Show. Kutcher had told the judge: “I do not believe he is a continuing damage to society,” adding that “raising his daughter without a current father” would “in itself be a tertiary injustice.”

Kunis, meanwhile, had told Judge Olmedo about Masterson’s “exceptional character and the tremendous positive influence he has had on me and those around him.”