After a jury found Danny Masterson guilty of raping two women, he was given a sentence of 30 years to life in prison. Although she was by his side during the trial, his wife Bijou Phillips Masterson filed for divorce more than a week later, alleging irreconcilable differences. It’s unclear whether the move is motivated by financial concerns, given her consistent backing.
Her suit, filed on September 15th, asked for alimony as well as full legal and physical custody of their 9-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis Masterson, with Masterson granted child visitation rights.
Experts in psychology maintain, however, that filing for divorce is rational. Though Phillips’ reasons for filing for divorce are unclear, she and her daughter may benefit emotionally by severing their legal ties to her convicted husband.
“Practically, she might like to extricate herself and her future from his name, which she has requested in her filing,” says Martie G. Haselton, a psychology professor at UCLA. “He will also be in prison for many years, removing much of the joy of regular martial interaction, perhaps bringing only pain. Emotionally, he was convicted of rape. To know that about one’s spouse must be devastating.”
Marriage involves Lifestyle as Much as Love
Phillips stood by her husband through all of his ordeals. On May 31, she sobbed as the guilty convictions were announced, and on September 7, she cried again when the judge sentenced the 47-year-old actor to the maximum term allowed by law. After 2 512 years in jail, Masterson will be eligible for parole, but he might potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Masterson insists he is innocent, and his lawyers have stated they want to appeal his conviction on the grounds that there were flaws in the evidence and constitutional violations.
According to Amy Armstrong, director and founder of The Center for Family Resolution, “my guess is her being audibly distraught was sincere.” “However, marriage is just as much about lifestyle as it is about love.”
Phillips called Masterson “a life-saving partner to me” throughout their 19 years of marriage in a character reference letter she wrote in his favor last month before his sentencing.
“Danny is an amazing father. Our daughter and I are heartbroken that he is not home with us. It has been very difficult without him here,” she wrote. “We need him more than you can imagine. 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.”
Psychologist Reneé Carr, on the other hand, notes, “When an actual legal conviction occurs, especially one as egregious as rape, the wives may feel disgust or shame.”
The Potential Benefits of Divorce for Phillips
In principle, a divorce may aid Phillips financially and for the sake of their children if they are still together.
“Divorce allows a social and financial separation from the convicted spouse,” Carr adds. “This can help the remaining spouse go on to live without the shame or rejection from potential employers or benefactors who do not want to be associated with the crime enacted or the spouse who committed the crime.”
Armstrong thinks Phillips likely has mixed feelings about it all: “She will be questioned for the rest of her life about her loyalty and priorities. It won’t be long before we see her nodding to her new-found freedom, as her soon-to-be ex gives up his. Best case scenario, they’ll end up friends.”
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