This famous actor has been married to his wife for over 25 years after dating for over 30. However, he once dumped her for Janice Dickinson.
This actor has been married to his wife and former model for 26 years. Despite having a long-lasting marriage, the couple has had their fair share of challenges.
The 77 and 55-year-old first met at a West Hollywood restaurant back in 1988. Regardless of him being 23 years older than her, the duo gave romance a chance and began dating shortly after.
Dumped through a Letter
The movie star was already an established A-lister in Hollywood, while his partner was starting her career as a model. She revealed that she and her then-boyfriend spent five days of the seven days of the week together.
The actor in question is Sylvester Stallone, and his mysterious wife is Jennifer Flavin. When she started dating Stallone, Flavin was well aware of their age gap but did not believe he was a cheater. In those days, she understood he was a man who was many years her senior and looking to have some fun while he still could. While their relationship itself is not a conservative one, it worked for them for a short while.
Soon after, Stallone began dating model Janice Dickinson in 1994 and broke things off with Flavin. To her dismay, the screenwriter dumped Flavin through a six-page letter delivered via FedEx, and she described it as “sloppy.” The pair had been dating for five years when Stallone ended things.
The Affair & the Devastating Truth
At the time, Dickinson had given birth to her daughter Savannah and claimed Stallone was the father. Savannah, now 29, was even given his surname at birth.
The exes were engaged for six months but split just weeks after the child was born in 1994. In 2002, Dickinson released an autobiography called “No Lifeguard On Duty,” where she detailed all the nitty-gritty about the potential fathers of her daughter.
The businesswoman admitted she had slept with three men in the space of a week and had gotten involved with Stallone when Savannah was conceived. Dickinson wrote that she genuinely believed the director had fathered her child even though she knew that she had been intimate with other men around that time.
Reaction to the Pregnancy
One evening, she went to Stallone’s home to have dinner, and they ended up sleeping together. After being intimate, Dickinson told him that she was pregnant. “You’re what?” he said. “‘I’m pregnant.’ I repeated.”
“How do you know it’s not Birnbaum’s?” he asked, referring to film producer Michael Birnbaum. Dickinson said she told him it was possible that it was Birnbaum’s child but did not think so. “Sylvester was a real mensch about it,” Dickinson wrote. She revealed that they started spending more time together, and he took her golfing, sailing, and horseback riding.
According to her, Stallone never mentioned Flavin, and she never asked about her either. When they were together, he introduced her to his friends, and they stayed at his place in Malibu
But when the pregnancy started to show, he was not too happy about it. “When a kid goes into a pet store, what do you think he’s going to take home with him: the momma dog or the puppies?” he asked. “‘You’re not a kid,’ I said.”
“Every man’s a kid on the inside. That’s the problem with men,” Stallone quipped. “‘You got that right,’ I said.” “Tell you what,” I’ll give you a million bucks to get rid of the baby,” he said.
Right off the bat, Dickinson disagreed and explained that she could not figure out whether he was serious or not, “but I didn’t even have to think about it. I’d already had two abortions,” Dickinson revealed. He asked her what if the unborn child was not his while speculating that it was a boy. But she corrected him and said that she was having a girl.
When he asked how she knew, Dickinson told him that it was her female intuition, and he reiterated his statement about her having an abortion, telling her that what he offered was a lot of money.
Out of frustration, Dickinson told him she did not want his money. They later flew down to Miami, where Stallone was busy shooting a movie, but the National Enquirer was more interested in her. Somehow, they found out she was pregnant, and soon enough, reputable news outlets called her to confirm. Stallone asked whether she was sure that she wanted to keep the baby, and she said yes.
The Baby’s Arrival
On the day of the baby’s arrival, Dickinson called Stallone, telling him that it was time, and he said he would meet her at the hospital. She had a quick delivery, and he arrived five minutes later, elated. She recalled the moment he first laid eyes on her daughter: :
“He held her in his big arms, with a stogie hanging out of his mouth, and rocked her and grinned and grinned.”
However, he doubted that she was his child at the back of his mind. “I hope she’s mine,” he said and she assured him that she was. Dickinson called her baby ‘Diva’ during her pregnancy, and Stallone did not like it, so when the infant was born, they named her Savannah.
Following the birth, the lovers took the little one to her new home, at Dickinson’s place in Nichols Canyon. Meanwhile, Stallone still wondered if the girl was his.
Stallone’s Anxiety Amplifies
The next time Stallone accompanied Dickinson to visit the pediatrician for Savannah’s one-month checkup, it was not an innocent visit on Stallone’s part. He wanted to make sure that he was the father, so he had arranged for a paternity test.
Dickinson noted she was not concerned about the outcome because she knew the baby was his. The lab called a few days later, and the results were murky. One of the technicians had messed up the test, so they needed another sample. Dickinson never gave them one. Then came a day when she had to leave for Paris for a gig.
Her doorbell rang, and the man outside identified himself as a lab technician from a facility in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles. Later that day, after she had walked the runway, she went back to the hotel and found Stallone waiting in her room.
Dickinson could tell Stallone was rather upset and asked what was wrong when she got there. “She’s not mine,” he said. “Excuse me?” she replied.
Stallone told her Savannah was not his daughter and that he heard from the lab in Long Beach. Still puzzled by the bombshell, Dickinson asked how it was possible, but the producer abruptly said to her right before standing up to leave:
“Send my regards to Birnbaum. We had a good run, Janice. Say nice things about me, and I’ll say nice things about you.”
Stallone walked out, and Dickson shared that she felt like she had been kicked in the gut, which is how their whirlwind romance ended. It turned out that, indeed, Birnbaum was Savannah’s birth father.
Savannah’s Life Now
Savannah has grown up to be her mother’s twin. She shared a picture of Dickinson in her younger days, and everyone in the comment section raved about how much they looked alike. “Your twin,” said a commenter; another added, “I thought this was you.”
Dickinson has also raved about how much her daughter supported her in her career ventures. When she was 21 years old, she spoke of Savannah going to college and doing well.
Savannah also shared a photo of her in a long denim dress and received more comments from people praising her for her beauty. “Beauty and grace,” remarked a commenter.
‘Jennifer Was Right’
Stallone’s failed experience with Dickinson made him realize that what he had with Flavin was probably the best thing that was ever going to happen to him.
Therefore, he managed to rekindle his relationship with the entrepreneur in 1997, and both decided it was for keeps as the couple later got married.
Flavin and Stallone celebrated their love for each other at a lavish wedding that year, surrounded by their closest friends and family. The lovebirds have since gone on to have three daughters, Sophia, Scarlet, and Sistine, and the family man could not be happier.
His Brood
Stallone has two other kids. His firstborn, Sage, arrived in May 1976. Sage was an actor and appeared in several movies alongside his father, including “Rocky V” and “Daylight.” While his acting career did not progress, he did attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His life was tragically cut short when he died on July 13, 2012.
Stallone’s second child is son Seargeoh, 44, whom he welcomed in 1979. He has stayed away from the limelight, so not much is known about him. A known fact is that he was diagnosed with autism at a young age.
