Drake Bell and Janet Von Schmeling Courtesy of Janet Von Schmeling/Instagram
It’s over. Drake Bell and wife Janet Von Schmeling have split after four years of marriage, according to multiple reports.
Page Six and People reported on Monday, January 2, that Bell, 36, and Schmeling, 28, split late last year. (Us Weekly has reached out to Bell’s attorney for comment.)
Schmeling previously claimed via Instagram in November 2022 that the twosome had “separated,” but later deleted the post.
One month later, she seemingly hinted at the issues in her marriage, writing via Instagram, “I’m HEALING and trying to find peace. This will be a process. My son is with me and will stay with me, We are in Florida with family and we are safe. We are finding our forever home here.”
Schmeling’s social media update came shortly after an eyewitness exclusively revealed to Us Weekly that Bell was spotted seemingly “huffing” balloons on two separate occasions in December 2022 while his young son was in the backseat of the car.
In a statement to Us, American Addiction Centers chief medical officer Dr. Lawrence Weinstein said Bell’s behavior was part of a rising trend.
“Based on data … there was an increase of more than 11 percent in the number of people who have misused an inhalant in the past year,” he told Us, adding that inhalant abuse can cause cognitive impairment or sudden death. “[It] is very dangerous.”
The actor, who has remained tight-lipped about his personal life in the past, shocked fans when he announced that he was a father and a husband.
“In response to various rumors that are incorrect, I have been married for almost three years, and we are blessed to be the parents of a wonderful son,” Bell tweeted in July 2021. “Thank you very much to all my fans around the world for your good wishes.”
The Drake & Josh alum’s social media post came one day after he was photographed with his little one and Schmeling at Disneyland. The outing was the first time Bell was seen publicly after he pleaded guilty to two criminal counts of attempted child endangerment charges and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
In June 2021, the musician was charged and he initially pleaded not guilty. He later changed his plea to guilty for an alleged incident that took place in December 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio, where he had a performance.
“Bell violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim,” Tyler Sinclair, spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a statement at the pretrial hearing. “The investigation also revealed that months leading up to the concert, Bell sent the victim inappropriate social media messages.”
Bell was sentenced to two years of probation one month later. “I just want to say today that I accept this claim because my conduct was wrong,” he said at the time. “I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I take this matter very seriously, and again I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions.”
Us Weekly confirmed that the singer was sentenced to 200 hours of community service in addition to probation. The Amanda Show alum can’t have any contact with his victim and he may have to register as a sex offender, depending on the California probation department’s decision.
Schmeling, who remained by Bell’s side during the legal woes, later showed her support for her husband amid his feud with Josh Peck. After the How I Met Your Father star, 36, recalled an awkward encounter between him and Bell at a past awards show, Schmeling took to social media to share her side of the story.
“Anytime anybody asked about Josh I would say, ‘He is so nice. Oh, they are so great.’ I am done lying to everyone when Josh Peck is a total piece of s–t,” she said via her Instagram Stories in March. “I stay quiet until lies happen.”
In the lengthy video, Schmeling detailed her husband being approached in a friendly manner by Peck, adding, “We actually hung out after that multiple times. We have talked multiples times since then. You’re a f–king liar, Josh.”
Peck, for his part, did not publicly address Schmeling and Bell’s comments. The Grandfathered alum previously admitted that he did not remain in contact with Bell following their time at Nickelodeon.
“The dirty little secret was that I knew that Drake and I didn’t stay in touch for ten years since we made the show. But no one needed to know that,” Peck said during an episode of the “BFFs” podcast in March. “I was happy to just die with that secret that we made this thing that people really loved but we weren’t that close.”
