Celebrities and their love lives are plastered all over the news on a regular basis, from new couple alerts to updates on old favorites, and, of course, unexpected divorces. In an odd report, Rocky star Sylvester Stallone is facing rumors that his 2022 divorce from his long-time wife Jennifer Flavin was caused by his dog.
A new family pet
At the beginning of August 2022, Sylvester Stallone posted a photograph on Instagram introducing his new dog to his fans. He called the massive Rottweiler “Dwight,” after his character from his new show Tulsa King. Apparently, the reason for the new pet was that he wanted more protection for himself and his family. After he brought Dwight home, Sylvester and Jennifer allegedly got into an argument about the dog.
While Sylvester was excited about the new pet, Jennifer was very much against it, not wanting to add another dog to their family. According to someone close to the family, the topic of Dwight caused “an extremely heated argument that brought up other issues,” though apparently no issues that were “marriage-enders.”
Did a dog cause a divorce?
Later, photos emerged showing a tattoo of Jennifer that Sylvester had covered over with a picture of Butkus, the dog featured in the Rocky movies. The tattoo was quickly attributed to her marital turmoil. After reports of the couple’s split and Sylvester’s quick cover-up of his tattoo, he provided his own statement on the events.
According to Sylvester, Dwight had nothing to do with the couple’s split. He said they “did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument.” He went on to add that they simply “went in different directions,” emphasizing the love and respect that he still holds for Jennifer. He also addressed the rumors about his tattoo, saying that he had gone in to get a touchup done but it ended up getting ruined, so he covered it up with the dog instead.
Filing for divorce
Jennifer also gave a statement about the events of their split, telling PEOPLE magazine “I’m sad to announce that after 25 years of marriage I have filed for divorce from my husband Sylvester Stallone. While we will no longer be married, I will always cherish the more than 30-year relationship that we shared, and I know we are both committed to our beautiful daughters.”
Although both Sylvester and Jennifer are putting a positive soin on the divorce filings in public, documents provided by TMZ paint things in a different light: “Upon information and belief, the Husband has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate.” Court documents also show Jennifer calling their marriage “irretrievably broken.”
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Whatever the reason behind the couple’s split, one thing is certain. Sylvester Stallone is adamant that his dog was not the cause.