Actress Jurnee Smollett reportedly faces a real-life legal drama as her decade-long divorce battle with ex-husband Josiah Bell intensifies over a contentious financial dispute.
New court documents reveal Bell is pushing to claim 50% of the retirement savings Smollett accrued during their marriage—a demand that could strip the actress of a significant portion of the nest egg she began building as a child star.
Smollett, 37, and Bell finalized their divorce in 2021 after 10 years of marriage, which produced one child. Since then, Smollett has reportedly paid Bell already pays him $7k/month in child support and nearly $1mill in divorce settlement, but Bell isn’t stopping there. He’s now targeting Smollett’s retirement accounts, including her SAG pension and 401(k)—funds she started accruing at just three years old, long before their 2010 wedding.
Jurnee has been performing since age three, and he feels that all her money should be split equally.
In terms of the specifics of Bell’s new requests, he’s asking for 50% of the funds Smollett accrued in her retirement accounts between 2010 and 2019, which is the period when they were married.
Under California law, assets earned during a marriage are considered “community property” and subject to equal division.
Bell’s legal team argues that the portion of Smollett’s retirement savings accumulated between 2010 and 2019, the duration of their union, falls under this category. A court has already ordered the transfer of 50% of those funds to Bell, a move that could grant him access to hundreds of thousands of dollars from accounts Smollett nurtured over her 34-year career.
Jurnee Smollett has not yet made any public statements regarding Bell’s demands, leaving it uncertain if she will contest them in court. The former couple tied the knot in 2010 after years of friendship. By 2013, their relationship seemed to be thriving from an external perspective.
Niggas hyping Jurnee Smollett’s ex husband really confirms that yall are the new bitches. pic.twitter.com/qRtaTjUNQt
— n i y(@niybangaaa) March 6, 2025
Jurnee Smollett and Josiah Bell welcomed their only child, Hunter Zion Bell, in November 2016 and are now co-parenting following their divorce.
Unfortunately, Jurnee Smollett has joined Mary J Blige, Brittany Spears, Wendy Williams, to name a few women who had to come out of pocket to a GOLD DIGGING ex-husband! That's a club no one wants to be a member of.
— It's Me (@SisterMomGranny) March 6, 2025
Jurnee and Bell last posted about each other on social media in October 2019. Their reps are yet to respond to this new development.
