'It’s a horrible situation': Sylvester Stallone was left 'broken' after first son Sage died and Seargeoh was diagnosed with autism
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sylvester Stallone is an icon, known for his work in films like ‘Creed’, ‘Rocky’, and ‘The Expendables’. Though his professional life has mostly sailed smoothly, the same is not true of his personal life. The 76-year-old has fathered five children with two of his wives. The actor was first married to Sasha Czack and welcomed sons – Sage Stallone and Seargeoh Stallone — in 1976 and 1979 respectively.
In 1985, Stallone married Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen but divorced her in 1987. He then tied the knot with his third and current wife, Jennifer Flavin in 1997. The two welcomed three daughters together — Sistine Stallone, Scarlet Rose Stallone, and Sophia Rose Stallone.
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‘It’s a horrible situation’
The ‘Rocky Balboa’ star faced issues with his two elder children. His firstborn Sage died in 2012 because of heart disease. He was 36 at the time. At the time, Stallone shared as per PEOPLE, “It’s very, very tough. It’s a horrible situation, but time hopefully will heal, and you try to get through it.”
There were rumors at the time that Sage lost his life to drugs but the ‘Cobra’ actor told E! News, “This is in reference to the speculation and questionable reporting surrounding the death of my son Sage. Because when a parent loses a child there is no greater pain. Therefore I am imploring people to respect my wonderfully talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha, because this agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives.” He also added, “Sage was our first child and the center of our universe and I am humbly begging for all to have my son's memory and soul left in peace.”
‘Sasha does the hard, in-the-trenches warfare’
However, Stallone faced another major blow years ago when he got to know about Seargeoh’s autism. On ‘The Arsenio Hall Show’ in 1990, he said, “That was bad. That was a really bad situation, and I can't recall after that, really having that kind of pain.” Also, PEOPLE reported in 1985 when Stallone and Czack learned of the diagnosis, they “both broke down”. But instead of getting weak and influenced by the advice of putting their son in an institution, they decided to tend to his special needs at home.
Czack said at the time, “I knew that Sly couldn’t get as involved because of his work. We do what we have to do. So I just said, ‘Give me the money, and I’ll take care of it.’” Besides, Stallone launched a research fund administered under the National Society for Children and Adults With Autism. He noted, “Sasha does the hard, in-the-trenches warfare. I use my films to have premieres that raise money for the fund,” before stating, “I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a blind, furious optimism. I am not the richest, smartest, or most talented person in the world, but I succeed because I keep going and going and going….”
‘With a child like this, you have to put away your ego’
But things went tough when the ‘Cliffhanger’ actor and Czack got divorced in 1985. This meant his son was living away from him. He reportedly said, “There is no real father-and-son thing there. I have to become his playmate. With a child like this, you have to put away your ego. You can’t force him into your world. I sort of go along with whatever he is doing.”
“To have a child in this predicament is extremely sad. It’s almost like a radio station—he fades on and off of the signal. I have tried to build my yard into a New England playground environment, where Seargeoh can go outside and relate to nature and hear the flowing water. That seems to bring him out a little,” he continued.
Stallone also added at the time, “He can pretty much feed himself now. Many autistic children are violent, Seargeoh is not. We’re lucky. A brain scan showed there was no deterioration of the brain. So there is a chance that he conceivably could recover.”