The ups and downs of Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin’s 25-year marriage before they called it quits

Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin’s marriage is over. Flavin, a former model, filed for divorce from the Rocky and Rambo actor, she announced to People magazine. Flavin, 54, and Stallone, who turned 76 in July, were married for 25 years.

The couple met in the late 1980s. Flavin was just 19 years old and had gone to visit a friend in Hollywood. She saw Stallone for the first time in a restaurant. The pair started dating in 1988. At the time, he was 42 years old and had already been married (and divorced) twice. He was also the father of two children from his first marriage to Sasha Czack, Sage (who died of heart disease at age 36, in 2012) and Seargeoh, who suffers from autism. Flavin and Stallone broke up in 1994. Only a few days later, she learned that he’d been having an affair with model Janice Dickinson, who announced her pregnancy a few months later.

When Dickinson’s daughter Savannah was born in early 1995, Stallone took a paternity test, and he learned that the girl was not his child. He immediately broke up with the model and returned to Flavin shortly thereafter. Stallone and Flavin had their first daughter, Sophia, in August 1996, and the pair got married in June 1997. Their second daughter, Sistine, was born just a year later and their third, Scarlet, followed in May 2002. All three young women’s first and last names begin with the letter S and they share the same middle name, Rose.

Last May, the couple celebrated 25 years of marriage and displayed their affection for each other on social media. But their marriage ended just three months later. Flavin broke the news herself: “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. I ask for privacy for our family as we amicably move forward.” Additionally, Flavin posted a photo of herself posing with her daughters on her Instagram profile (which has 400,000 followers) , accompanied by a caption that said, “These girls are my priority, nothing else matters. The 4 of us forever.” Hours later, Stallone issued his own public statement. “I love my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.” The actor’s first film in 3 years, Samaritan (Amazon Prime Video), premieres on August 26. Stallone spoke to TMZ to explain that he and Flavin split up because they “just went in different directions.” He did so because tabloids initially reported that the couple had a heated fight about their shared rottweiler, Dwight, triggering the separation. Although he did note that the couple held different views about “dog care,” Stallone denied that the dispute caused the divorce: “We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument.” Stallone went on to tell the tabloid, “I have the highest respect for Jennifer. I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met.” According to the website Page Six, Stallone was “blindsided” when Flavin filed for divorce last week. At the time, he was filming a series in Oklahoma and was “in shock” after hearing the news. In the divorce petition, to which Page Six had access, Flavin alleges that her husband “has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets.” According to the website, she “demanded that Stallone be prohibited from selling or transferring any assets during divorce proceedings.” The couple sold their large Beverly Hills mansion a few months ago to British singer Adele for $58 million (60 million euros).