Inside Bijou Phillips’ Fresh Start After Scientology Exit and Danny Masterson Divorce
Bijou Phillips is looking forward to the future after parting ways with Scientology as her estranged husband, Danny Masterson, serves out his 30-year prison sentence.
"She quietly left [the religion]," a source exclusively reveals in the newest issue of Us Weekly. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't talk to her friends and family still in Scientology."
According to a second insider, Phillips' inner circle has evolved since her departure. "[Based on] who she's hanging out with, it's obvious she's put Scientology behind her," the source adds. (DailyMail was first to report the news of Phillips' exit from Scientology.)
Phillips' choice to part ways with the controversial religion comes after she filed for divorce from Masterson, 47, last year after his legal issues. Masterson was sentenced to 30 years behind bars after being found guilty on two counts of forcible rape for incidents that occurred in the early 2000s. The actor has vehemently denied the allegations since he was arrested and charged in 2020.
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Days after Masterson was sentenced in September 2023, Phillips, 43, filed for divorce following 12 years of marriage. She requested full custody of the duo’s 9-year-old daughter, Fianna, one month later. Masterson responded by agreeing to give Phillips full legal and physical custody but requested visitation rights.
"Bijou is trying to put the whole sordid mess behind her and concentrate on building a new chapter," a third source tells Us.
Masterson and Phillips started dating after they met at a celebrity poker tournament in 2004.
"Every guy at the table was flirting with me but Danny,” Phillips recalled to Paper magazine in 2009. “He wasn’t laughing at my jokes. I was like, ‘Who is this Danny Masterson and what does he think he’s doing?’”
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Masterson recalled hearing that Phillips was a “little crazy girl," adding, “After Vegas, and talking to her a few times, I was shocked by how unbelievably intelligent she was. She knew every book I had ever read. I was like, ‘This girl is amazing.’”
After six years of dating, Masterson and Phillips tied the knot in 2011 and expanded their family. Phillips later praised Masterson for his support in a letter written for his sexual assault retrial.
“I am writing to you to ask that you consider this information when sentencing my husband, Danny Masterson," she wrote in a letter to Judge Charlaine Olmedo. “I depended on Danny to take care of me and our daughter. I always felt that she would be okay because Danny is an amazing father. He was devoted to our daughter, would read her books, take her on walks and to ballet lessons. I never once heard him complain. The two were inseparable.”
Phillips continued: “More than anything, she loves her father. When he calls us each day, she ends with ‘I love you too much Daddy.’ 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.”
Since pulling the plug on her marriage, Phillips has enjoyed outings with friends and offered glimpses at her life as a single mom.
"Bijou has great friends in her corner, and family members are there for her 24/7," the third insider shares with Us.
For more on Phillips' fresh start, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
