Reservoir Dogs Star Michael Madsen Files for Divorce, Alleges Wife Drove Son to Suicide

Breakdown of the Couple’s Marriage

Accord­ing to court doc­u­ments, Michael Mad­sen, 66, has filed for divorce from his wife DeAn­na, cit­ing irrec­on­cil­able dif­fer­ences as the rea­son for the split.

The cou­ple had been mar­ried since 1996 but sep­a­rat­ed short­ly after the death of their 26-year-old son Hud­son in 2022.

Allegations of Abuse and Neglect

In the fil­ing, Mad­sen has accused his estranged wife of dri­ving their son to die by sui­cide “by her neglect, drink­ing and alcoholism.”

He has also request­ed a domes­tic vio­lence restrain­ing order against DeAn­na and denied her own alle­ga­tions of abuse against him.

Tragic Loss of Their Son

The Mad­sens’ son Hud­son died by sui­cide in Jan­u­ary 2022, a tragedy that appears to have been a break­ing point in their marriage. 

Mad­sen’s lawyer stat­ed that the actor is now look­ing for­ward to spend­ing more time with his oth­er chil­dren and pur­su­ing his act­ing and writ­ing career.

Ongoing Legal Battle

The divorce pro­ceed­ings are ongo­ing, with Mad­sen alleg­ing that the “irrec­on­cil­able dif­fer­ences” list­ed do not ful­ly cap­ture the com­plex­i­ty of the sit­u­a­tion. DeAn­na was pre­vi­ous­ly arrest­ed for a domes­tic vio­lence inci­dent at the cou­ple’s Mal­ibu home last month, though the inves­ti­ga­tion is still ongoing.

Support for Those in Need

If you or any­one you know is strug­gling with sui­ci­dal thoughts or a men­tal health cri­sis, there are resources available.

In New York City, you can call 1–888-NYC-WELL for free and con­fi­den­tial cri­sis coun­sel­ing. The nation­al 988 Sui­cide & Cri­sis Life­line is also avail­able 24/7.