Downey's Wife Seeks Divorce

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/02/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Model-actress Deborah Falconer, 35, has filed for divorce from her husband of nearly nine years, actor Robert Downey Jr., 35. The petition, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, cites irreconcilable differences and comes six years after the couple separated. Falconer is seeking custody of the Downeys's seven-year-old son, Indio. The action comes two days after Downey won a Golden Globe award for his current role as the love interest on TV's "Ally McBeal" and amid questions about his personal and professional future. On Monday, Downey is expected in an Indio, Calif., courtroom to face felony drug possession charges (stemming from a Nov. 25 bust in a Palm springs hotel room) that could land him back behind bars. In August, Downey was released from a yearlong sentence in state prison for a prior drug conviction. A spokesman for Downey, contacted by Reuters, had no comment on Falconer's action. The soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Downey is seeking unspecified spousal support payments from the actor and has asked that Downey be granted supervised visits with their child.