“Diff’rent Strokes” actor Todd Bridges, who starred as the sitcom’s Willis Jackson, revealed to TMZ on Wednesday, Jan. 13, that he and his wife of three years, Bettijo B. Hirschi, have decided to divorce.
“After much thought and mutual respect, we have decided to end our marriage,” Bridges told the outlet. “During our time together we shared meaningful moments but have chosen to go our separate ways. I ask for privacy and wish her nothing but love and happiness moving forward.”
Todd Bridges Married Bettijo B. Hirschi in 2022
After their cozy August 2022 wedding in front of 70 guests at Greystone Mansion & Gardens in Beverly Hills, Bridges told People that he met Hirschi through a mutual friend, leading him to pop the question soon after.
“We met through a friend that I’ve [known] for a long time named Mandy,” Bridges said. “I was supposed to actually be setting her up with someone else, but it didn’t go that way. When I met her, I was like, ‘I’m not going to set her up with anyone else. I want her for myself.’”
Hirschi told the outlet that he and Bridges used the song “At Last” by Etta James for their first dance, adding that it made sense because “we both went through a lot before finding each other.”
Hirschi noted how before she and Bridges found each other, they “had given up on finding something this great.” The designer noted how together, they were “super surprised to be able to have it kind of given to us.”
Todd Bridges Dated Janet Jackson as a Teenager
GettyBridges was married to his first wife, Dori Bridges, before his relationship with Hirschi. The former couple tied the knot in 1998, later divorcing in 2012, ABC News reported.
While his claim to fame is starring in “Diff’rent Strokes,” Bridges’ relationship with Janet Jackson as a teenager ranks high up there as well.
In an interview on “The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux” in August 2025, Bridges disclosed that he dated Jackson “for a little while” after she was cast as his girlfriend on the hit NBC sitcom.
“When I started going out with her, I had to go to meet all her brothers and stuff,” he added. “For a 16-year-old boy, that is not fun. You know what I mean? You gotta meet the brother, and they’re all like, giving you the eye.”
