Current:Home > FinanceDanny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence -LondonCapital
Danny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence
View
Date:2025-04-18 12:00:26
Bijou Phillips Masterson has filed for divorce from husband Danny Masterson over a week after he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.
Phillips filed a petition to end their 11-year marriage on Monday in Santa Barbara court, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY. TMZ was first to report the news.
Phillips cited irreconcilable differences as the reason and listed the date of their separation as "TBD." Her petition, signed Sept. 15, requested spousal support as well as restoration of her name to Bijou Phillips and full legal and physical custody of their daughter, with Masterson receiving child visitation.
The two married October 2011 and share a 9-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis Masterson, together.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Phillips and Masterson for further information.
Phillips stood by Masterson throughout his two trials. She wept when the guilty verdicts were read on May 31 and showed similar emotion at times during his Sept. 7 sentencing hearing, when a judge handed down the maximum sentence allowed by law to the 47-year-old actor. Masterson will be eligible for parole after serving 25½ years but can be held in prison for life.
A jury of seven women and five men had found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson's Hollywood-area home in 2003 when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox sitcom "That '70s Show." The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.
Masterson maintains his innocence, and his attorneys have said they plan to appeal, contending there were problems with evidence and constitutional issues with his conviction.
Bijou Phillips called Danny Masterson an 'extraordinary husband' a month before divorce
In the character reference letter she wrote in support of her husband last month before his sentencing, Phillips said Masterson has been "a life-saving partner to me" over the course of 19 years together.
"Danny is an amazing father. Our daughter and I are heartbroken that he is not home with us. It has been very difficult without him here," she wrote. "We need him more than you can imagine. I know he has been convicted of serious crimes. But the man I married has only been an extraordinary husband to me and a devoted father to our daughter."
The letter, addressed to Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo and dated Aug. 14, was among dozens that Masterson's family and friends wrote — made public by The Hollywood Reporter — urging leniency in his sentencing.
Who is Bijou Phillips?
Phillips, daughter of "The Mamas and the Papas" singer-songwriter John Phillips and actor Genevieve Waite, was a model as a teenager and released an album before shifting to acting.
She has appeared in films including "Almost Famous" and television shows including "Raising Hopes" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Ashton Kutcherresigns from anti-child sex abuse nonprofit after supporting Danny Masterson
Contributing: Associated Press
veryGood! (6123)
Related
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- California aims to introduce more anglers to native warm-water tolerant sunfish as planet heats up
- Trump arraignment on Georgia charges will be in a court that allows cameras — unlike his other 3 indictments
- The Federal Bureau of Reclamation Announces Reduced Water Cuts for Colorado River States
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Amid Maui wildfire ash, Lahaina's 150-year-old banyan tree offers hope as it remains standing
- Two Connecticut deaths linked to bacteria found in raw shellfish
- Everything to Know About The Blind Side's Tuohy Family Amid Michael Oher's Lawsuit
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Explosive materials in New Jersey home caused blast that killed 2 men, 2 children, officials say
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- The problem with treating Bama Rush TikTokers like famous reality stars
- Soldier accused of killing combat medic wife he reported missing in Alaska
- 7-year-old South Carolina girl hit by stray shotgun pellet; father and son charged
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- See the Surprising Below Deck Alum Causing Drama as Luke's Replacement on Down Under
- Messi injures foot in Inter Miami practice: Here's what we know before Leagues Cup semifinal
- Cleveland Browns star DE Myles Garrett leaves practice early with foot injury
Recommendation
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Indiana revokes licenses of funeral home and director after decomposing bodies and cremains found
These 7 Las Vegas resorts had bedbugs over the last 18 months
Family questions fatal police shooting of man after chase in Connecticut
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Facial recognition? How about tail recognition? Identifying individual humpback whales online
Ex-FBI counterintelligence official pleads guilty to conspiracy charge for helping Russian oligarch
Federal officials plan to announce 2024 cuts along the Colorado River. Here’s what to expect