Disclaimer: This article contains mention of assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh actor Drake Bell‘s estranged wife, Janet Von Schmeling, were married for nearly five years before she filed for divorce in 2023. As per People Magazine, Bell and Schmeling dated for five years before secretly tying the knot in 2018. However, the couple only disclosed their marriage on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2021. The tweet also confirmed that they share a son.
Schmeling lives in Florida and has a career in martial arts, as seen in the bio of her official Instagram profile, per People Magazine. The bio also mentions Florida’s Winter Park-based Victory Martial Arts school. The outlet reported that she seemingly took a liking to the sport in October 2023 when she posted a video of her training on her personal Instagram.
Page Six reported that after filing for divorce in April 2023, Drake Bell’s estranged wife went Instagram-official with her new boyfriend, Jim Perez, in October. At the time, she and Drake Bell were in the midst of a divorce. Schmeling cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split and requested primary legal and physical custody of their two-year-old son. She also asked for visitation rights for Bell while seeking spousal support.
Almost a year after the divorce, Bell appeared on ID’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. For the first time, the former actor opened up about the sexual assault he suffered at the hands of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, who is now a registered sex offender. Quiet on Set is now available to stream on Max.
What happened between Drake Bell and his estranged wife, Janet Von Schmeling?
Drake Bell and his estranged wife, Janet Von Schmeling, dated for five years before marrying in 2018. Bell’s first revealed his marriage to Schmeling in June 2021 via tweet. In a statement, he revealed, “I have been married for almost 3 years.” He also confirmed that they shared “a wonderful son.” He reportedly disclosed the details after someone photographed them with a baby stroller in Disneyland. The couple also wore matching golden bands on their ring fingers.
People Magazine reported that the announcement came a few days after authorities arrested Bell for having inappropriate communication with a 15-year-old girl. He was facing attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. The charges stemmed from an incident allegedly occurring on December 1, 2017. The victim also accused him of sexual misconduct, but his attorney disputed the allegations. He then pleaded guilty and received two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
A source told the outlet in January 2023 that Bell and Schmeling had been separated for a few months. The source confirmed that the two are “maintaining a peaceful co-parenting relationship” for their son. At the time, Bell was seeking outpatient help for substance abuse issues. They said he “needed to take time to get help and focus on his health.”
The Sun stated that another source told Page Six, “It’s a bad moment in time for Drake but he is a great dad when he is healthy and sober. They had some incredible beautiful times before. He needs to focus on being healthy, and they’ll be great co-parents in the future.”
A few months later, in April, Drake Bell’s strange wife, Janet Von Schmeling, filed for divorce. This occurred a week after Bell’s brother reported the former actor missing in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Orlando Police Department stated via Facebook that Bell was “missing and considered endangered,” per US Weekly. Later that same day, the DBPD confirmed that “law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe.”
In the divorce filing, Schmeling cited that “irreconcilable differences” caused their split. She also requested primary legal and physical custody of their two-year-old son. Moreover, she requested visitation rights for Bell for their son and sought spousal support. Following this, Bell wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he “found out my wife filed for divorce from TMZ.” In the tweet, he also asked users to “check out my new song.” He has since deleted the post.
According to Page Six, Drake Bell’s estranged wife, Janet Von Schmeling, confirmed her new relationship with her boyfriend, Jim Perez, in October 2023. Per People Magazine Schmeling’s Instagram bio, she lives in Florida and recently attended Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Tampa.
