Drake Bell has been in the public eye for some time now, having first emerged as an actor and later musician through his work on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh. In the years since his time on the kids’ network, Bell mostly kept a relatively low profile, until he made headlines due to some personal and legal issues. The most recent situation saw him charged with attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. Now, after pleading guilty to the charges, Bell has surprisingly revealed that he actually has a wife and son.
In the midst of his legal problems, 34-year-old Jared Drake Bell has been the subject of a number of rumors relating to his professional and personal lives. This appears to be the reason why he chose to take to Twitter to provide some clarity on his current personal situation. Here’s what Bell had to say on the matter:
In response to various rumors that are incorrect, I have been married for almost 3 years, and we are blessed to be the parents of a wonderful son. Thank you very much to all my fans around the world for your good wishes.
With this revelation, it would seem that Drake Bell's wife is Janet Von Schmeling. The two have reportedly been romantically linked for years now and were recently spotted in Disneyland (via DailyMail), where they were reportedly celebrating Bell’s birthday. Along with them was their young son, who was being strolled around the park.
It’s interesting that the general public is only just finding out that Drake Bell has a family of his own, though this is probably how the entertainer wanted it. A number of celebrities are intensely private when it comes to their personal lives, especially when it comes to their children. Given the nature of Hollywood, Bell’s desire to keep that part of his life private is admittedly understandable.
The charges to which Drake Bell recently plead guilty stem from an incident that allegedly took place in Cleveland back in December 2017. The alleged 15-year-old victim attended one of Bell’s concerts, during which he reportedly “violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim.” Police reports also claim that Bell formed a relationship with the victim years before the 2017 incident and had allegedly engaged in an inappropriate chat with her, which reportedly became sexual.
Drake Bell’s guilty plea, which was made on June 23, was part of a plea agreement, though the details of said agreement are still unclear, as of right now. Bell could now be facing some significant jail time, as the count of attempted child endangerment carries a sentence of 6-18 months in prison or, in its place (or in addition to it), he could have to pay a fine that can be as high as $5,000. In terms of the disseminating matter harmful to juveniles charge, he could receive a maximum sentence of six months in county jail as well as a fine up to $1,000. Still, his guilty plea may help lighten the sentence.
As of this writing, Drake Bell is set to make his next appearance in court on July 12. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on the situation.
