Sylvester Stallone reflects on his near-divorce and moment of “reawakening”

Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone opened up about his marriage and near-divorce with Jennifer Flavin, which propelled him to reevaluate his priorities, in an interview with the Sunday Times on October 30.

Stallone has been married to former model Jennifer Flavin for 25 years. In August, Flavin filed for a divorce. Per a statement from Stallone, the couple was “amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.” In September, they reconciled, and the divorce was off the table.

Stallone revealed in the interview that he had learned important lessons about family, especially being a father, from this incident. He and Flavin have three daughters, Scarlet (20), Sistine (24), and Sophia (26). The actor admits he did not pay enough attention to them during their childhood due to being “career-oriented.”

From the mid-80s until the late 90s, Sylvester Stallone was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. While his films from this era were commercial successes, critics were not so enthusiastic. After a decline in popularity in the early 2000s, he stepped back into the limelight in 2006 and 2008 with new installments in the Rocky and Rambo film series. His fame again skyrocketed in 2010 with the first film in The Expendables series.

These time frames coincided with the formative years of Stallone’s daughters. Now, he is making up for the years lost and is more involved in their lives. Stallone calls the brief split from Flavin a “tumultuous time” and a “reawakening of what was more valuable than anything.” He realized this was his family. And the famously tough action star claims, “that was a hard lesson to learn.”

However, this is not the first time the couple has reconciled. Stallone first met Flavin in 1988, which led to a relationship that lasted until 1994. Not only had Stallone been seeing model Janice Dickinson, but he also told Flavin that Dickinson was pregnant with his child.

However, after the baby was born in February 1994, DNA tests revealed that Stallone was not the father. He and Flavin rekindled their relationship in 1995 and married in 1997. Stallone claims he is not interested in an undefeated boxer, but it looks like he may know the value of undefeated love.