A marriage ending is devastating no matter how long the relationship lasted. But a marriage of twenty fives years ending is a different kind of pain altogether.
Jennifer Flavin is actually Stallone’s third wife. His first marriage was to Sasha Czack in 1974, which lasted until 1985. The couple had two sons, Sage and Seargeoh.
Before that, Stallone was also married to actress Brigitte Nielsen for two years, in a highly-publicized Hollywood marriage and divorce.
His marriage to Flavin almost didn’t happen: after dating for six years, Stallone briefly broke up their relationship after his affair with another woman came to light. But the couple patched things up, had their first kid and were married in 1997.
For Stallone, their romance was life-changing. “I’ve never had more fun,” he said in 2010, according to The Sun. “I learnt that from my wife… It took me 19 years to realize she’s always right.”
“I realized that women have a knack, at least Jennifer, for making incredibly erudite, wise, smart decisions. I always leap without looking.”
The couple has three daughters Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet and the family is incredibly close-knit.
“In terms of what to say if we don’t know how to answer a guy’s text. Or if we’re trying to break up with a guy he’ll give us really good advice… on how to cut them off,” Sistine told HollywoodLife.
“There are guys that have been broken up with via my dad, and they have no idea.”
According to The Sun, oldest daughter Sophia, studied communications at the University of Southern California. While his second child Sistine has taken after her mother with a successful modeling career and has now also dabbled in acting with a role in Midnight in the Switchgrass, starring Bruce Willis and Megan Fox.
His youngest daughter Scarlet celebrated her high school graduation last year. The three daughters were also honored as Miss Golden Globe in 2017.
Their famous dad isn’t shy about bragging about his daughters’ accomplishments, and many of his social media posts are of him with his beautiful family.
Posing for a pic with his glamorous, grown-up daughters, Sly beamed with pride: “I am a very very lucky man to have such wonderful, loving children who brought me nothing but joy,” he wrote in an Instagram caption. Adding in a humorous line saying, “Now I wish they would stop growing so tall!”
As a child himself, Stallone was raised by a single mother after his parents divorced. His mother, Jackie Stallone met his father Frank Stallone Sr. in 1945 when he was a met hairdresser and part-time actor. One year later, she gave birth to Sylvester Stallone in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Sly’s birth was quite dramatic, something Jackie opened up on in an interview with Female First.
“During the delivery to speed things up, they grabbed these ice-picks [forceps] and yanked the baby out paralyzing his whole head and face and part of his body. His body was so deformed it was pathetic,” Jackie said.
The accident left Sly with a partially paralyzed face. It also affected his lip, tongue, and chin, giving Stallone his signature, mumbling speech.
“The doctors told me ‘He’s so crippled you ought to put him away.’ But I decided he was going to walk, he was going to talk,” Jackie said.
Jackie would have another son with Frankie Stallone before they got divorced in 1957. After the break-up, the matriarch of the Stallone family lived a pretty quiet life, but her two son’s kept her busy.
“It was always my children and I against the world. All through life, I was the saviour in the family. I was the mouthy one, and I had the type of children that were always in trouble,” she told Sun Herald in 1988.
After his marriage to Flavin, things seemed to have settled down in his life. After the couple hit their silver anniversary, it was not just his longest-lasting relationship but one many assumed would be his final. However, the truth behind the curtain is not always what is portrayed to the world. While the couple seemed to have a perfect life, with the perfect home and three beautiful daughters the reality might have been very different.
In 2022, Sylvester Stallone celebrated 25 years of marriage with his wife Jennifer Flavin. The Rocky star celebrated his silver anniversary by posting a sweet photo of him and his wife, with a heartfelt caption.
“Happy 25th anniversary to my amazing wife. There is not enough words to describe what this incredibly selfless dedicated , patient, woman has meant to our lives and I only wish they could be another 25! Thank you sweetheart!” the caption read.
So news of their split, announced a year ago, really shocked everyone. Sources say that even Stallone was “blindsided” by the divorce filing, and was on location in Oklahoma when his wife filed the paperwork.
“Sylvester’s intent was to work things out with Jennifer. Now I don’t know [what will happen] because she decided to go public with everything,” the source told OK! News.
Flavin filed for a “dissolution of marriage” at a court in Palm Beach County, according to the information available on the online docket.
“I love my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues,” Stallone said in a statement to The Times.
While it’s a private matter and no one can know for sure what the couple was going through before the divorce filing, it has been speculated that it was, surprisingly, over a dog.
One of the first signs that the marriage was in trouble was when Stallone covered up a tattoo of Flavin with a photo of Butkus — his old pet dog who famously appeared in the Rocky movies.
Stallone also recently got a new pet Rottweiler, a pet that his wife reportedly did not want. It was reported in the media that the couple’s 25 year marriage seemingly ended over a fight about a dog.
In January 2021, Stallone and Flavin listed their home in Beverly Park for $110 million after they bought a compound in Palm Beach for $35.38 million.
However, as for today, the couple has apparently patched things up and canceled their split. For weeks, it seemed that the couple’s 25-year marriage was really ending — but apparently, the two have worked things out.
So, was it ultimately the dog that precipitated the separation?
Stallone has refuted this, telling TMZ that while he and Flavin did have disagreements about the dog, the actual cause was bigger and more personal.
“We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument,” he told the outlet. “We just went in different directions.”
“I have the highest respect for Jennifer. I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met.”
As for the tattoo, he claimed he just wanted to “freshen up” the old tattoo, but it got messed up and the Butkus tribute was a last-minute fix. He said he still has a tattoo of Flavin on his back, not yet replaced by any beloved pets.
