Jennifer Flavin’s divorce from her movie star husband Sylvester was a shock even to her own brother, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Mitchel Flavin, 63, told DailyMail.com that the first he heard of the split was this week after his sister filed marriage dissolution papers in Palm Beach County on Friday.
Minnesota-based Flavin said the couple seemed happy together with no hints of tension when he saw them in February at the funeral of his and Jennifer’s mother, Shirley.
‘I just found out about that this morning,’ he said.
‘Last time I saw them was in February. I didn’t see anything happening or going on. So this is news to me.’
Flavin said at first he didn’t believe it when he read a story on Tuesday, revealed by DailyMail.com, that the Rocky actor had covered up his arm tattoo of his wife with a depiction of a dog.
‘I saw a report about it. At first I didn’t believe it, but I guess he did do it,’ he said.
Stallone’s publicist, Michelle Bega, claimed that the ink coverup was required after a botched touch-up of the tattoo of his wife.
Flavin added that although Jennifer rarely shared details of her relationship with him, she and Sylvester seemed on good terms earlier this year.
‘When I’m with them, I don’t really pry into their private life too much. But things seemed fine,’ he said.
‘Last time I was with him was for my mom’s funeral. So there were other things going on then. We went to my sister Trisha’s afterwards, we socialized, nothing seemed out of place.
‘It was tough for my sisters. Jennifer and her sisters were closer to our mother than us boys, it’s natural. But she wasn’t bawling and crying. She was holding it together.’
The brother said he believed Jennifer would be staying in Florida, while Stallone would be in Los Angeles.
‘I think she’s going to retain the Palm Beach House during the divorce, so he’s probably in LA,’ he said.
The couple bought a 1.5 acre lakefront $35million estate in Palm Beach in 2020.
In January, Jennifer and Sylvester said they were enjoying a new phase of their relationship after their three adult daughters finally moved out.
The couple sat down on camera for their daughters Sistine and Sophia’s podcast, Unwaxed, on January 31.
Sat on a sofa with Sly, Jennifer told the girls: ‘He’s so damn funny. He’s the funniest guy I’ve ever met.
‘Now we’re having a lot of fun because we’re empty nesters.’
‘We’re crazy glued together,’ Sylvester said. ‘If she was out of my life it would be mass suicide.
‘She’s fantastic, she’s an amazing woman. I tell her that every day.
‘But she’s a little crazy… And when I say crazy it’s good crazy.
But on Friday Jennifer filed papers in Palm Beach County court asking for a divorce.
The filing says ‘the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken’ and that her lawyers believe 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.’
Jennifer, who took her husband’s last name, also seeking to restore her maiden name, Flavin.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Stallone said: ‘I love my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.’