LOS ANGELES — Less than two weeks after her husband was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rape, Danny Masterson's wife has filed for divorce.
Bijou Phillips, a model and actor who was in the courtroom as the "That '70s Show" star was sentenced, filed for divorce Monday in Santa Barbara Superior Court, according to court records.
They’ve been married since 2011 and have a 9-year-old child together.
"Ms. Phillips has decided to file for divorce from her husband during this unfortunate time. Her priority remains with her daughter," her attorney Peter A. Lauzon said in a statement. "This period has been unimaginably hard on the marriage and the family. ... Ms. Phillips acknowledges that Mr. Masterson is a wonderful father to their daughter. She hopes that everyone will respect her family’s privacy in these difficult times."
Phillips, 43, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the divorce and is seeking spousal support and legal fees, according to the filing.
She has also petitioned to have her legal name restored to Bijou Phillips.
In a letter Phillips sent to the judge who sentenced her husband this month, she called Masterson a doting father and "a life-saving partner to me."
"We need him more than you can imagine," Phillips wrote in the letter dated just last month. "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."
Masterson, 47, was convicted in May of raping two women at his Los Angeles home two decades ago. A jury could not reach a decision on charges relating to a third woman.
The actor did not testify at the trial, but has denied all allegations.
An attorney for Masterson declined to comment.
