Sylvester Stallone didn’t pull any punches when talking about how he and his wife, Jennifer Flavin came close to calling it quits. The couple filed for divorce in August, but by the end of October, they had patched things up. “I used to have my priorities all screwed up, you know,” Sylvester, 54, said during the Nov. 9 premiere of Paramount+’s Tulsa King in New York City, per Entertainment Tonight. Stallone said that “work came first,” which caused the stress between Jennifer, 54, and him. “Eventually, I came out of that delusional thinking, and they come first.”
Sly and Jennifer’s daughters, Sistine Stallone, 24, and Sophia Stallone, 26, joined their parents during the Nov. 9 premiere. It marked the first semi-full Stallone family outing since the couple reconciled. All that was missing was their daughter Scarlet Stallone, 20, at the premiere.
Before the Tulsa King premiere, Stallone spoke about he and his family went through “a very tumultuous time” leading up to the divorce and the renewed romance. There was a reawakening of what was more valuable than anything, which is my love for my family. It takes precedence over my work, and that was a hard lesson to learn,” he told The Sunday Times. Days after the Times chat, Stallone spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and shed some more light on what caused the rift.
“Sometimes I put the work ahead of [my family], and that is a tragic mistake which won’t happen again,” he said. Stallone also spoke about the upcoming reality television show featuring his family and how the recent drama will be part of the series. “It’s the John Lennon thing: ‘Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.’ Hopefully, you’re involved with people who understand the foibles of life and the fragility of it and how rare a real good relationship is,” said the Rocky star.
“I thought it would be the ultimate home movie,” he said of the series. “This is a chance where I’m going to be with my kids under a work condition where they get to see me in action, and I get to see them in action. What you will see is the real truth. This is a great opportunity. I don’t look at it as stooping to conquer. But each time you go in a different direction, people go, ‘Oh God, you must be in trouble.’ Just the opposite.”