Date 2019-10-23
Category Gist & Gossip
Zooey Deschanel’s estranged husband, Jacob Pechenik has officially filed for divorce from the actress, Zooey Deschanel.
Jonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel attend ‘Dancing with the Stars’ on September 30, 2019. ABC/Eric McCandless
The film producer, 47, filed papers in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 22. The case type was listed as “dissolution with minor children,” since the former pair share daughter Elsie Otter, 4, and son Charlie Wolf, 2.
In court papers obtained by Us, he cites the date of separation as January 8 and is asking for joint legal and physical custody of the kids.
TMZ was the first to report the news of Pechenik’s divorce filing.
Us reported on September 6 that the New Girl alum’s marriage was ending after four years. “After much discussion and a long period of contemplation we have decided we are better off as friends, business partners and co-parents rather than life partners,” they said in a joint statement to Us. “We remain committed to our business, our values and most of all our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time.”
The filing comes one day after Deschanel, 39, made her new relationship with Jonathan Scott Instagram official. In a photo from Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the 41-year-old Property Brothers star adorably held the actress in his arms.
Multiple sources confirmed Deschanel and Scott’s romance to Us last month. An insider told Us that the duo “had instant chemistry when they met” on the set of Carpool Karaoke. The couple also “bonded over their love of music, film, theatre — and Christmas carols.” They were also spotted being affectionate in the audience of Dancing With the Stars on September 30.
Deschanel began dating Pechenik in 2014 following her split from Jamie Linden. They got engaged in January 2015, only one week after confirming that they were expecting their first child, Elsie. They secretly wed that August. (She was previously married to Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard from 2009 to 2012.)
Though their marriage ended, the She & Him singer has expressed how much becoming a mother has changed her. Speaking exclusively to Us in September 2017, Deschanel said she is “always thinking” of her two children with Pechenik.
“At least for me, that’s what I think of first thing,” she said. “Like, ‘How are the kids doing? What do they need?’ That’s my first thought when I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.”
