Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin: Inside couple's age gap and infidelity rumors as duo end 25-year marriage
Update: Sylvester Stallone recently celebrated his last birthday as a married man. On Aug 19, his wife of 25 years, Jennifer Flavin filed for divorce citing that the marriage is 'irrevitably broken'. In the divorce docs, Flavin claimed that Stallone 'has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate. Stallone's marriage to Flavin - his third - seemed to be one of the strongest in Hollywood even though the couple's romance had a rocky start.
The exact reason for divorce is unclear, but what early rumors from a TMZ source suggest is that it may have been over a Rottweiler protection dog Stallone wanted but Flavin didn't.
The actor has since denied that claim but the source says the argument exposed underlying issues in the marriage and led to the divorce filing.
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Sylvester Stallone will be 76 soon but the actor is already in a party mood as he was reportedly seen celebrating in advance with his wife, children, brother and other pals. Stallone, who apparently got a role in ‘Tulsa King’ television series, arrived at Via Alloro in Beverly Hills for the revelry as he was accompanied by his 53-year-old former model wife, Jennifer Flavin, their three beautiful daughters — Sistene, Sophia and Scarlett.
Reportedly, the ‘Rocky Balboa’ star was looking dapper in a white shirt and blue denim, which he paired with green suede boots. Flavin, on the other hand, opted black dress for the occasion, which has a slit on one side. She was also seen donning a pair of black heels. Stallone’s brother was spotted at the get-together too in a bright yellow shirt.
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Sylvester Stallone celebrates wife gorgeous Jennifer Flavin's birthday with glamorous daughters in tow
Stallone and Flavin have been together for years. Though their marriage is almost 25 years old, the relationship is way older than that. As per reports, they met each other when Flavin was a 19-year-old aspiring model while ‘The Expendables’ actor was a 42-year-old man, twice divorced. Their first meeting apparently happened in 1988 at a Beverly Hills restaurant and a romance blossomed between them.
At the time, Flavin had said: “I’d come over, and we’d watch a movie, cook dinner, goof around with the dog, or walk on the beach,” while Stallone had noted, “I’m loving life again. Jennifer has made all the difference.” However, their relationship was not like a conventional one. In 1991, Stallone said: “When we come together, it is wonderful. When we are separate, there are no strings attached. That’s the way it is. No strings.”
Flavin had also supported his statement a year later as she reportedly stated: “I’m not naive about what may go on when I’m not around—he’s a 45-year-old man—I can’t change the way he is. Still he’s not a cheating dog every day of the week. We spend five out of seven nights together, so I don’t know where he’d find the time.”
But people close to Flavin apparently had issues with her blind faith in Stallone. Her mother had said, “Jennifer just always wanted to trust in him no matter what.” The business owner’s pal Kirstin Wolf had also added: “She’s the kind of girl who wants to believe in the best in everyone. She said, ‘I know he loves me.’ So it was never an issue.”
However, Flavin’s trust was shattered when in 1994, Stallone broke up with her by sending just a letter via FedEx. “I cried a lot. I called all my friends. And I cleaned my apartment about five times. I had so many pictures and things to get rid of,” she said at the time as she further shared, “I was disappointed. You can’t just write somebody off in a letter after six years. It’s not like I was going to try to beg him to come back to me or anything. I just wanted to talk.”
The reason behind the bizarre breakup was reportedly Stallone’s affair with model Janice Dickinson, who delivered a child in 1994. The ‘Rambo: First Blood’ star assumed the baby was his but later after doing a DNA test, it was found he was not the father. Stallone then went on with his life and was linked to multiple women but nothing lasted long.
In 1995, Stallone and Flavin patched up and had a baby girl together in 1996 before saying “I do” to each other a year later. After the marriage, the actor said, “I have had 2 great things happen to me in the past year: the birth of our beautiful daughter Sophia Rose and now my marriage to Jennifer, who is a great mother and I know will be a wonderful wife.”
“I’ve never had more fun. I learned 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. She always looks and never leaps. She’s incredibly safe. So now finally, I say: ’Honey, you make all the decisions. Done, done, done. I trust you.’ I never had that before. Ever,” Stallone had added.