Current:Home > StocksDanny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence -TradeCircle
Danny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:55:07
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! (29263)
Related
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Celebrating America's workers: What to know about Labor Day, summer's last hurrah
- Remains of British climber who went missing 52 years ago found in the Swiss Alps
- West Indian American Day Parade steps off with steel bands, colorful costumes, stilt walkers
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Phoenix man let 10-year-old son drive pickup truck on freeway, police say
- Acuña 121 mph homer hardest-hit ball of year in MLB, gives Braves win over Dodgers in 10th
- Nevada flooding forces Burning Man attendees to shelter in place
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Whatever happened to this cartoonist's grandmother in Wuhan? She's 16 going on 83!
Ranking
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Metallica reschedules Arizona concert: 'COVID has caught up' with singer James Hetfield
- NASA astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up 6-month station mission
- 4 things to know on Labor Day — from the Hot Labor Summer to the Hollywood strikes
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell in hospice care, representative says
- College football Week 1 grades: Deion Sanders gets A+ for making haters look silly
- Grand Slam tournaments are getting hotter. US Open players and fans may feel that this week
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
Bodycam footage shows fatal shooting of pregnant Black woman by Ohio police
College football Week 1 grades: Deion Sanders gets A+ for making haters look silly
Far from the internet, these big, benevolent trolls lure humans to nature
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Largest wildfire in Louisiana history was caused by arson, state officials say
Top 5 storylines to watch in US Open's second week: Alcaraz-Djokovic final still on track
Kristin Chenoweth Marries Josh Bryant in Texas Wedding Ceremony