The actor has a son with his ex-wife Janet Von Schmeling
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Drake Bell
Drake Bell admits that one of the reasons he revealed himself as a victim of child abuse was to set an example for his son.
In an exclusive interview with TodayThe former Nickelodeon star, 37, was asked by NBC News’ Katie Snow if his role as a father played a role in his decision to open up while participating in the Investigation Discovery series Peace on set: The dark side of children’s television.
“Was your son part of your motivation to speak out?” Snow asked.
“Yes, and when he gets older, I hope he can say, ‘My father went through that. And the man I know today is a hero to me,'” Bell replied.
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“It wasn’t that I wanted my son to be proud of me, it was that I didn’t want anyone else to have to tell him about his father,” Bell continued. “I could have either let it destroy me or let it make me stronger for him.”
“As he gets older, he’s going to hear things and people are going to have opinions,” the proud father added. “But I hope he can say, ‘Yes, my dad went through that. Yes, that happened to my dad. Yes, my dad did that.'”
“But the man I knew my whole life and the man I know today is a hero to me. And the fact that he was able to get through those things helped me to face the world and not let it get me down.”
Bell has a three-year-old son with his ex-wife Janet Von Schmeling.
In March, Bell came forward as a victim of sexual abuse. The former Nickelodeon singer spoke about the abuse he suffered at the age of 15 at the hands of Brian Peck, the network’s dialogue coach. The abuse occurred over a six-month period when he was 15 years old.
Despite being “under fire” and in the midst of “a lot of” controversy surrounding his confession, Bell said on the show that the public scrutiny “is nothing compared to what I’ve felt in the past.”
“The more I can talk about it and the more I am able to articulate my thoughts to myself, the more it feels like a huge weight is lifted from me and I feel liberated,” he explained, noting that the trauma will stay with him for the rest of his life.
The Drake and Josh One graduate recalled thinking he could “go down this path and that would be the end of my story” or get back up and “fight for what’s important to you and your life: fight for your family, fight for your relationships, fight for yourself and finally find peace.”
Drake Bell Instagram
Drake Bell, Janet Von Schmeling and her son Jeremy
In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to the Bell case, in which he committed oral sex with a minor under 16 and lewd acts with a 14- or 15-year-old. After serving 16 months in prison, Peck was required to register as a sex offender.
In July 2021, Bell first announced his marriage, just days after pleading guilty to attempted child endangerment and distribution of material harmful to minors. He had previously been arrested for sending inappropriate text messages to a 15-year-old fan.
“In response to various rumors that are not true, I have been married for almost 3 years and we are blessed to be the parents of a wonderful son,” he wrote in a opinion in Spanish on X (formerly known as Twitter) back then. “Thank you to all my fans around the world for your well wishes.”
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