Drake Bell supposedly found out his wife wanted a divorce from the news (Picture: Getty)
Drake Bell has claimed he didn’t actually find out his wife was divorcing him from the woman herself.
Instead, he learned the news through TMZ.
It was reported on Friday (April 21) that Janet Van Schmeling, 28, was filing for divorce from her Nickelodeon star husband, 36, after five years of marriage.
US outlet TMZ was first to share the news, writing that Von Schmeling cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ in a dissolution of marriage petition filed at Los Angeles County’s Superior Court.
According to the document filed on Thursday (April 20), she is also seeking legal and physical custody of their young son Jeremy, while she’s open to Bell receiving visitation.
While the news has only just been made public, it’s said the couple has actually been separated since September 2022.
Janet Von Schmeling reportedly cited ‘irreconcilable dfferences’ (Picture: Tasia Wells/WireImage)
The reports came just one week after Bell was reported missing, with concerns for his welfare.
Taking to Twitter amid the media storm, the actor wrote: ‘I found out my wife filed for divorce from TMZ…’
He added: ‘check out my new song’, with a link to the music video for his song Going Away.
His fans were quick to shower him with support, as some urged him to ‘stop reading social media’ and ‘be stronger’ before oversharing online.
Others added that it was ‘messed up’ for him to find out about the divorce filing from the news.
Bell made headlines recently when the Drake and Josh actor, who rose to fame on The Amanda Show, was reported missing and ‘endangered’ by Daytona Beach Police on April 13.
However, a spokesperson informed Metro.co.uk hours later that he was ok.
‘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 star – whose first TV appearance was aged five on Home Improvement – had been found in their jurisdiction ‘unharmed’ at around 11.30am.
Deputies had also taken action to make sure he received a ‘mental health evaluation’.
The former couple are parents to a young son, Jeremy (Picture: Instagram)
He later addressed the situation himself in a lighthearted social media post and claimed he was safe but unreachable.
‘You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?’, he tweeted, with a crying laughing emoji.
Bell made headlines in 2021 when he spoke out after pleading guilty to attempted child endangerment, and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
He was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Bell was also prohibited from contacting the victim, who accused him of grooming her from the age of 12 and sexually abusing her when she was 15.
Bell recently laughed off reports of him being missing (Picture: Twitter)
Taking to Instagram with a statement that September, he said in a video that the claims were ‘false’ and he had endured a ‘three-year thorough investigation.’
‘If these claims were remotely true, my situation would be very different, and I would not be here at home with my wife and my son. But that being said, I’m not perfect, and I made mistakes,’ he said.
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‘I responded to a fan whose age I didn’t know… yet when I became aware of their age, all conversation and communication stopped. And this individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets, all while I was unaware that this was the same person that I was communicating with online.
‘And, uh, and that’s what I pled guilty to. You know, I… it was reckless and irresponsible text messages.’
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Janet Van Schmeling reportedly cited ‘irreconcilable differences.’