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‘West Wing’ Star Joshua Malina’s Divorce Settlement: Spousal Support, SAG Pension & More
The West Wing star Joshua Malina and his estranged wife, Melissa Merwin, reached a divorce settlement that includes spousal support, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, on December 31, 2024, Melissa informed the court that an agreement had been reached.
She said the parties have “entered into a written agreement regarding their property and their marriage or domestic partnership rights; including support.”
Regarding spousal support, the terms were not revealed, but Melissa asked that the court enforce the terms of the settlement. The deal also covered the division of their property and attorney fees.
Per their deal, Joshua, 58, and Melissa agreed to cooperate in dividing the community interests of a bank account for a production company called Busy Izzy Productions.
Joshua agreed to work with his ex to make sure one-half of the assets from the account are transferred over to an account held by Melissa.
In addition, each party was awarded one-half of Joshua’s SAG-Producers Pension plan.
Melissa filed for divorce on August 2, 2024, in Los Angeles Superior Court. She listed the date of marriage as December 1996. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. Melissa also asked the court to award her spousal support.
The couple share two adult children, which meant the issue of child support was moot. Melissa filed her paperwork without the help of a lawyer. Joshua filed a response a couple of weeks later. Joshua and Melissa kept their romance low-key over the years.
The actor rarely spoke about his marriage, and they made few public appearances. Back in 2015, Joshua posted a rare photo of Melissa on his Instagram account.
Melissa was seen working on a flower bouquet. Joshua captioned the photo, “My beautiful wife, at her store.”
In 2021, Joshua posted a photo from their wedding captioned, “I married this knockout 25 years ago today!” Joshua and Melissa started dating back in 1992 when the actor met Melissa through her sister Jennifer.
Neither Joshua or Melissa have spoken out about their divorce.
Joshua has quite the resume and has worked in Hollywood for decades.
He starred as Will Bailey on The West Wing for 80 episodes. The actor is also known for his role as David Rosen in the Kerry Washington-lead ABC drama Scandal. Joshua starred on the show for 124 episodes.
Last month, a few members of Scandal reunited for an online script reading to raise money for people affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
Kerry and costar Tony Goldwyn appeared for the event. The actor has continued to work steady since Scandal wrapped. He appeared in an episode of Netflix’s Inventing Anna and two episodes of the NBC sitcom American Auto.
Joshua has a film set for 2025 titled Ethan Bloom that is listed as in post-production on his IMDB profile.
