Family Matters Alum Bryton James Files for Divorce After Less Than 7 Months of Marriage

The actor, who portrays billionaire Devon Hamilton 'The Young and the Restless,' reportedly married Jahaira James in March 2025

Bryton James attends the party during the 62nd Monte Carlo TV Festival at the Monte-Carlo Beach hotel on June 16, 2023 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Bryton James attends the 62nd Monte Carlo TV Festival on June 16, 2023. Credit :

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

  • Bryton James of The Young and the Restless has filed for divorce after less than a year of marriage
  • The Family Matters alum filed for divorce from Jahaira James on Monday, Oct. 13, in Los Angeles
  • The pair wed in March 2025, per documents obtained by PEOPLE

The Young and the Restless star Bryton James has filed for divorce after less than a year of marriage.

James, 39, filed for divorce from wife Jahaira James on Monday, Oct. 13, in Los Angeles, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE. The Family Matters alum cited irreconcilable differences. TMZ was first to report the news.

The pair, who wed in March and whose date of separation is listed as three months later in June, do not share children and James is asking to terminate the ability of the court to award either spousal support. He is also requesting that Jahaira restores her previous name, according to the outlet.

PEOPLE has reached out to a contact for James for comment on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Bryton James attends the 51st annual Daytime Emmys Awards at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles on June 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California
Bryton James attends the 51st Annual Daytime Emmys Awards on June 7, 2024.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

James, who previously appeared on Family Matters as Richie Crawford, later joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2004 — taking on the role of billionaire Devon Hamilton. For his work in the series, he scored a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series in 2007, before winning a Daytime Emmy in 2020 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was nominated five other times in the category, per CBS.

Parade previously reported that James shared snaps of dancer Jahaira on stage during Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter Tour in May 2025, writing in a caption that his love for her "continues to exude."

“Her journey is what inspiration wants to be when it grows up," he reportedly wrote in a since-deleted post. "And I am beyond proud to be a witness to her art as we share this life together 🧡.”

The actor was previously married to Ashley Leisinger from 2011 to 2014, per TMZ, and told the State of Mind with Maurice Benard podcast in 2021 that he didn't think he'd get married again.

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"I don't think I'd get married again because I have different ideas about the institution of marriage and where it comes from and what it's about," he said. "I'm not against it but I just don't think I would do it again."

"And also, I've learned a lot about myself and how I feel about children. It's something that I've always kind of known that I didn't want to have children, but it wasn't something that has been as concrete as it is now," he added. "And it's taken my experiences of being with people and really facing it."

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