Jane Kaczmarek & Bradley Whitford Divorcing

Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek and her husband Bradley Whitford (from The West Wing) are divorcing after almost 17 years of marriage. Whitford filed for divorce last month. Kaczmarek filed her response in Los Angeles this week.

The couple married in 1992. Whitford had several small acting roles under his belt by then but his profile didn’t rise substantially until seven years later when he was cast in the hit TV show The West Wing. Kaczmarek appeared as a guest star in many shows and had a role in a short-lived series just prior to the marriage. She achieved fame though in 2000 as the mother in Malcolm in the Middle.

Kaczmarek and Whitford have three children, Frances (11), George (9) and Mary (6). I haven’t seen Whitford’s original filing but Kaczmarek has asked the court to order joint legal custody but award her physical custody of the kids with visitation for Whitford. Some of the gossip sites have made a big deal about this request today. It doesn’t seem that scandalous to me.

If Kaczmarek sought sole legal custody – trying to shut Whitford out of any decision-making authority over the children – THAT would be a big surprise and a very aggressive move. But a request by one parent for physical custody and visitation to the other is fairly typical. I anticipate that these two will ultimately work out a parenting schedule that will work for them and their three children.

Kaczmarek’s filing does not suggest that there was a prenuptial agreement so there may be substantial property division issues to be resolved. Alimony seems to be out of the picture. Kaczmarek did not request any in her paperwork and asked the court to terminate Whitford’s right to seek alimony from her. Although I haven’t reviewed Whitford’s filing, I haven’t read any reports which suggest that he asked for any alimony either.

Whitford is represented by L.A.-based family law attorney Neal Hersh. Hersh has previously represented Kim Basinger, Halle Berry, Brad Pitt and Pamela Anderson among others. Kaczmarek’s attorney is Dan Jaffe, who has previously represented Kimora Lee Simmons, Anne Heche and media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s first wife Anna Murdoch.