Todd Bridges Files for Divorce from Wife Bettijo B. Hirschi
Actor Todd Bridges, best known for his role as Willis Jackson on the hit show Diff’rnt Strokes, has officially filed for divorce from his wife, Bettijo B. Hirschi, in Maricopa County, Arizona. The 60-year-old actor and Hirschi, who tied the knot in September 2022, have decided to end their marriage after just over a year together.
In legal documents reviewed by Us Weekly, Bridges stated that he and Hirschi attempted to resolve their differences but ultimately concluded that their marriage was “broken beyond repair.” He publicly announced the separation in a statement released in January, expressing the emotional weight of the decision.
“After much prayer and reflection, my spouse and I have made the difficult decision to separate,” Bridges said in a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage Without Minor Children. “This was not an easy choice, and it comes with a heavy heart, but also with love and gratitude for the life we shared.”
Bridges noted in his court filing that he and Hirschi no longer live together and do not own any shared property. He requested that the court preserve the assets each party owned before their marriage and that neither should receive spousal support during the split. Additionally, Bridges mentioned that they have a “written agreement” outlining how their assets will be divided.
A New Beginning
The couple met less than a year before their wedding, and their relationship quickly developed into something meaningful. Hirschi shared her perspective on their romance in September 2022, telling People that she and Bridges felt “so blessed” in their relationship.
“We kind of both had given up on finding something this great and we were super surprised to be able to have it kind of given to us,” she said. “And we feel like God had a hand in bringing us together.”
Bridges explained to the magazine that he and Hirschi met through a friend named Mandy, whom he had known for a long time. “I was supposed to actually be setting her up with someone else, but it didn’t go that way,” he said. “When I met her, I was like, ‘I’m not going to set her up with anyone else. I want her for myself.'”
Hirschi described how their connection began on a dating app. “My friend had made me a profile on some other app intended for dating,” she said. “She was using him as market research.” She added that her friend sent pictures of Hirschi to Bridges, asking for his opinion on her appearance.
“She texted me and said, ‘You need to message my friend, he wants to hear from you!’ She wrote the text too, so I just copy and pasted,” Hirschi recalled.
Shared Values and Faith
One of the key factors that brought Hirschi and Bridges together was their shared interest in spirituality. Hirschi emphasized that they had a similar understanding of God and their faith.
“What really struck me about Todd is that we have a very similar idea of who God is and what he’s like and how he interacts with us,” she said. “We hear [God] similarly. I feel like God speaks to me directly too.”
She also mentioned that she felt confident in sharing her beliefs with Bridges. “I remember telling my parents, ‘He has a very similar understanding of God that feels very much like the faith that I have.'”
