Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, who is perhaps best known for his role on “Drake & Josh,” has reportedly separated from his wife, Janet Von Schmeling. According to Page Six, the latter has already relocated back to Florida with their son, Jared, just one month after the actor was allegedly spotted “inhaling” balloons on December 7 and December 8.
Witnesses told Us Weekly that Bell was inside his car with his son in the backseat while he seemingly huffed on a balloon until it was deflated. His split from Schmeling may come as a shock considering the pair have been together since 2013 and married back in 2018, but sources say things have been far from easy between them, with divorce being the next step following their separation.
Josh Peck being a nuclear physicist in Oppenheimer and Drake Bell inhaling balloons is so on brand for them pic.twitter.com/K6fRGVUVtz
— Humza (@_Humza_Khan_) December 29, 2022
“They had some incredible beautiful times before. He needs to focus on being healthy and they’ll be great co-parents in the future,” an insider added. “It’s a bad moment in time for Drake. But he is a great dad when he is healthy and sober.” Bell’s split from Schmeling comes one year after the 36-year-old was put on a two-year probation for attempted child endangerment stemming from a December 2017 incident where he was accused of grooming a minor.
But Bell being seen huffing on a balloon could very well indicate that the safety of his son may have been in danger if one was to assume that there was a certain sort of substance he was consuming from the inhalations, which went on for 30 minutes, as claimed by the eyewitness.
“Drake pulled up in the driveway at his house [in Los Angeles] and started to inflate a pink balloon that was in his lap. He inhaled it … [until] the balloon was deflated,” they said of the December 7 incident. “Eventually he got out and went into his house, then he came back out and got his kid out of the rear child seat and carried him in.”
drake bell getting caught doing whippits w his kid in the car is honestly not THAT surprising
— a l e a h (@SATlVADIVA) December 24, 2022
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“At one point, it looked like he was about to fall asleep. His head started to drop and his eyes slowly closed. But eventually, he got himself together and drove off. The kid was clearly in the car.” Bell is currently said to be getting treatment, though it wasn’t specified what he was being treated for.
It’s unclear when Bell and Schmeling plan to divorce as of yet, but chances of a reconciliation at this point seem very slim.