Sometimes, second chances change people's lives.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 23, 2022. It has since been updated.
Being a legend in Hollywood does not guarantee that your life would be filled with love for all eternity. The fairy-tale love stories do look great on the silver screen but they do not necessarily translate into the real lives of the stars. And there are many superstars in the business who have stumbled and fallen to the darker corners of their lives before being rescued by love in the most unexpected way possible. Such is the story of Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin.
The Rocky-fame star had had a number of broken relationships before he saw Flavin at a West Hollywood restaurant in 1988. He was at a low point in his profession and wasn't doing well personally either. Call it destiny or whatever, it was at that point that the two love-birds came into each other's lives.
Recalling the wonderful experiences they shared together as their relationship started to bloom, Stallone had 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." Speaking with People, Flavin had spoken about her experience with Stallone, saying, "I’d come over, and we’d watch a movie, cook dinner, goof around with the dog or walk on the beach." These were the wonderful first months of new love.
The sweet embrace of love continued for six long years when one day, out of the blue, Flavin received a letter that shattered her momentarily. The letter arrived via FedEx. Stallone had, instead of doing it face-to-face, chosen to break up with her over a letter. Flavin spoke about this incident with People and said, "He sent me a six-page handwritten letter, in pen. It was pretty sloppy." She added, "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." Well, a fair enough point, isn't it?
She was yet to find out the reason behind the breakup and it was her agent that gave her the real story behind Stallone's letter. It emerged that Stallone was having an affair behind Flavin's back with model-photographer Janice Dickinson. It was also being reported that Janice had given birth to a baby girl and that Stallone was her father.
One thing, however, kept Flavin going. She knew in her heart that Stallone still loved her. And hence, even after finding out about the affair, she wanted to give him one more chance. Her mother revealed that "Jennifer just always wanted to trust in him no matter what." She added, “She’s the kind of girl who wants to believe in the best in everyone."
Furthermore, Stallone and Flavin had spoken about having kids and that made her sure that he was still in love with her. She told People, "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea this was going to happen. We talked about us having children, about when I was going to get pregnant. We were already picking names, marking down names that he liked and I liked."
The divide between them, however, did not bridge easily. After a DNA test, it was confirmed that Stallone was not the father of Janice's child. But he did not go back to Flavin for almost a year. It was she, it appears, who kept the flame of their love alive and gave him a chance when he decided to return. It was in 1997 when they tied the knot and embarked on a fresh journey, this time as a married couple. According to thenetline, Stallone said, "I have had two great things happen to me in the past year: the birth of our beautiful daughter Sophia Rose, and now marriage to Jennifer, who is a great mother and I know will be a wonderful wife."
Their marriage only cemented their love further since then and the couple has been together for 23 years now and they have three wonderful daughters together. According to the Sun, he has grown to cherish and admire Flavin through the time they have been together as he once said, "But 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." Turns out, she was the anchor that steadied his ship.
References:
https://thenetline.com/the-truth-about-sylvester-stallone-wife-jennifer-flavin/
https://people.com/archive/rocky-ending-vol-41-no-16/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/5611522/jennifer-flavin-sylvester-stallone-wife-model-rocky/
Cover Image Source: Instagram | Jennifer Flavin
