You may not immediately recognise the name Drake Bell, but is Drake and Josh ringing any bells for you?
Drake and Josh was a hit Nickelodeon TV show that ran from 2004 to 2007 about two step brothers who were complete opposites.
The show starred Josh Peck and, you guessed it, Drake Bell as the leading characters.
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Once the show ended, Bell went on to feature in a number of other Nickelodeon shows throughout the 2010’s such as iCarly, Victorious and Zoey101.
In 2011, he even went on to star in the Fairly Odd Parents movie adaption, A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up Timmy Turner!
He even reprised the role in the film’s two sequels, A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012) and A Fairly Odd Summer (2014).
At his peak, Bell was somewhat of a household name, however these days we don’t hear much about him.
So, what actually happened to Nickelodeon actor?
Well, things started to go downhill for the Bell the same year that A Fairly Odd Summer was released.
In 2014, the actor filed for bankruptcy.
According to documents obtained by People at the time, Bell owed US$1.597 million (approximately AUD$2.445 million.)
After filing for bankruptcy, the Drake and Josh actor stayed out of the spotlight for a few years, until he made quite an explosive comeback in 2017.
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In June of 2017, Bell’s Drake and Josh co-star, Josh Peck married his longtime girlfriend Paige O’Brien.
Over the years, Peck had gained quite the social media following, appearing in multiple YouTube videos alongside David Dobrik and ‘The Vlog Squad’.
The ceremony featured a number of celebrity guests, including John Stamos, however Bell was not in attendance.
And he made sure that the public knew, that was not his decision.
“When you’re not invited to the wedding the message is clear….” he wrote in a series of now deleted tweets.
“Loyalty is key… ALWAYS remember where you came from … True colours have come out today. Message is loud and clear. Ties are officially cut. I’ll miss you brotha.”
He later told People that his reaction was because he was “caught off guard” and he, “hadn’t heard anything about it.”
He also explained that there were no hard feelings between the two, saying, “He’s been my best friend for 18 years, in all honesty, we talk all the time.”
He soon took to Twitter to post a photo of the two seemingly hugging it out, with the caption, “I freakin’ love this guy!”
However, in 2022, Peck opened up about the situation from his perspective on the BFFs podcast saying that the two hadn’t really been in touch in the 10 years between filming the show together and Peck’s wedding.
“Drake & Josh is something I’ll be synonymous with forever and I’m proud of it,” he said. “I want to like the guy that my name is attached to forever but unfortunately, it just sort of worked out the way that it did.”
Later in 2017, Bell made somewhat of a comeback to the spotlight, releasing new music from his EP Honest.
By 2019, the actor had started talking about a potential Drake and Josh reunion, explaining that the duo were working on something and that Peck had had a “really cool idea.”
The reunion never came to fruition though, and by 2020, Bell had gotten himself into hot water.
An ex-girlfriend of his, Melissa Lingafelt – who he had dated from August 2006 to February 2009 – accused the actor of abuse.
In a now deleted TikTok video, Lingafelt accused Bell of both verbal and physical abuse, however the actor denied any truth to the claims.
In a statement given to People, Bell said, “[I] never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video.”
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In June 2021, Bell found himself in more legal trouble as he was charged with attempted endangering children and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
At the time, the actor pleaded not guilty, until later that month when he appeared virtually in court, agreeing to a plea deal and pleading guilty on both charges.
During the hearing, Bell’s victim, who was 19 at the time, referred to him as “the epitome of evil.”
She spoke at length about the harm Bell had done, claiming that he began grooming her when she was 12, which the actor has said “is entirely false and wrong.”
She alleged that at the time she had felt loved and protected by him, but after she turned 15 his messages became sexual.
The victim explained that although the messages made her uncomfortable, she felt trapped because she has “idolised” the actor for so long.
In a video posted to his Instagram, Bell attempted to explain why he plead guilty to the charges, saying he was not aware of the victims age at the time and when he did become aware, “all conversation and communication stopped.”
“This individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets, all while I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, and that’s what I plead guilty to,” he said.
In July of 2021, Bell was sentenced to two years probation, 200 hours of community service, and was prohibited from making contact with the victim.
Around the same time as his sentence, the actor revealed to the public that he had been secretly married for three years to his longtime girlfriend Janet Von Schmeling and that the two shared a son.
In December 2022, images of Bell inhaling balloons in a car, parked at a vape shop in California were published by The Daily Mail, and in one image his young son was visible in the backseat.
Just a few weeks later, in January 2023, news broke that he and Von Schmeling had separated but the duo were “committed to maintaining a peaceful co-parenting relationship.”
The source that confirmed the split to People also revealed that Bell was now getting outpatient help for substance abuse, saying that he “needed to take time to get help and focus on his health.”
A few months later, on April 19, 2023, Bell was reported missing in Florida.
The Daytona Beach Police Department posted to Facebook to say that they were looking for Bell and to ask for the public’s help as he was “considered missing and endangered.”
Within a couple of hours, police confirmed they had found the actor and that he was safe.
Later, a 911 call was released that gave the public more insight into what had actually happened.
“I have a possible attempted suicide,” said the officer. “Basically there is a celebrity who had a falling out with this wife … and we got involved because we’ve [been in touch with] the family in California saying that he’s going to get drunk and hang himself, and he’s in a hotel somewhere in Orlando.”
It was long until Von Schmeling had filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason.
She also requested legal and physical custody of their son, as well as spousal support, according to the dissolution of marriage petition filed.
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For a while following his divorce, Bell once again remained out of the public eye, until reappearing at a wrestling match in Mexico to introduce one of the competitors.
Most recently, Bell was a competitor on The Masked Singer Mexico dressed as Baby Alien, aka Bebé Alien.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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