Sylvester Stallone reveals contents of ‘breakup letters’ he writes to daughters' boyfriends
Sylvester Stallone is known by many as playing the legendary roles of Rocky and Rambo. But to five people, he’s just known as dad.
The 77-year-old stopped by TODAY on Feb. 8 with his wife, Jennifer Flavin, and youngest three children to talk about the second season of their reality TV show, "The Family Stallone," and he explained he helps his daughters draft their breakup messages.
"I write breakup letters," Stallone shared. "They're not brutal enough — I say, 'I would rather live in Egypt forever, in the sun, than spend another moment with you.'"
His daughters added their dates often don't come back after they bring them home to meet the parents.
"They are one-hit wonders," Stallone said.
Stallone's middle daughter, Sistine Stallone, told TODAY's Savannah Guthrie her dad is very protective.
"He's the most overprotective, overbearing guy," she said. "If he had it his way, we'd live at home until we were about 55 — single."
The actor has three daughters — Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet — with Flavin. He also shares son Sage, who died at the age of 36 in 2012 from a form of heart disease, and son Seargeoh Stallone, with his former wife, actor Sasha Czack.
Flavin, 55, filed for divorce from Stallone in August 2022 after 25 years of marriage, but then reconsidered. Stallone said he’s reassessing his priorities when it comes to his family.
In November 2022, Stallone said he “didn’t pay enough attention” to his children when they were growing up.
“I was so career-oriented, and now I go, ‘OK, I don’t have that much runway up ahead, and I want to start asking them about their lives,’” he told the Sunday Times.
The same month, he also opened up about the switch he’s making to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Sometimes I put the work ahead of (my family), and that is a tragic mistake which won’t happen again,” he said.
Stallone and Flavin, along with their three daughters, star in a reality series chronicling their lives together called “The Family Stallone,” which premiered May 17, 2023, on Paramount+.
Here’s everything you need to know about his five children.
Sage Moonblood Stallone
The actor and Czack welcomed their first child, Sage Moonblood Stallone, on May 5, 1976.
Sage seemed to take after his father and even played the role of Rocky’s son in “Rocky V.” He later said the part changed the course of the relationship with his dad.
“When I was screaming ‘You never spent time with me! You never spent time with my mother!’ that was true. I was looking into my father’s face and really saying that,” Sage told People in 1996 regarding his lines in the 1990 film. “I got a lot of things out. We broke into tears a few times. After the film, everything changed. We’d do anything for each other.”
Stallone made rare comments when opening up about his late son in his documentary “Sly.” The actor recalled working with his eldest child on “Rocky V” when they played father and son.
Sage was just 14 when he took the role of Robert opposite his father’s Rocky Balboa. The storyline involved the famous boxer spending more time training and focusing on his career than with his family.
When asked if he drew that storyline from his own experience, he said, “Unfortunately, yes.”
“I try to take something that actually is what I wish I had done in real life, but I wasn’t able to do that in reality. And so quite often I would do it theatrically, magically,” Stallone said.
A solemn Stallone then discussed the scene where Rocky’s wife, Adrian (Talia Shire), delivers an emotional speech about his son.
“Her speech, when I’m losing my son and having a nervous breakdown... She tears me a new one. ‘Save your son!’” Stallone told the cameras. “A lot of that is true. Unfortunately, you put things before your family, and the repercussions are quite radical and devastating.”
Sage studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for a year before moving back to Los Angeles to pursue a role alongside his dad in the 1996 film “Daylight.”
On July 13, 2012, Sage was found dead in his home at the age of 36. After conducting an autopsy, it was determined he died from a form of heart disease.
After his son’s death, Stallone said “there is no greater pain” than losing a child.
“Therefore I am imploring people to respect my wonderfully talented son’s memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha, because this agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives,” he said.
Seargeoh Stallone
Stallone’s second child, Seargeoh Stallone, was born in 1979.
As with his older brother, Seargeoh became part of the “Rocky” franchise when he starred as Rocky Balboa’s infant son in the 1979 film “Rocky II.”
When he was just 3 years old, Seargeoh was diagnosed with autism.
A few years later, in 1985, Stallone and Czack began a research fund under the National Society for Children and Adults with Autism. In 1985, Stallone told People he uses his “films to have premieres that raise money for the fund.”
“With a child like this you have to put away your ego,” he said. “You can’t force him into your world. I sort of go along with whatever he is doing.”
When Sage died in 2012, his mother asked mourners to make a donation to Autism Speaks in lieu of flowers.
Sophia Rose Stallone
The actor’s third child, and first with wife Flavin, was born on Aug. 27, 1996. Sophia Rose Stallone, 27, is his first daughter.
At just 2 months old, Sophia underwent heart surgery and went in for a second time in 2012.
Sophia, along with her two younger sisters, made history with the shared title of Miss Golden Globe for the 2017 Golden Globes award show.
In 2019, Sophia graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
“Our daughter SOPHIA graduates from USC !!!! An absolutely amazing day for us all. So proud!!!” he wrote in the caption.
Along with running a digital book club on Instagram @favoritebookclub, Sophia currently co-hosts the “Unwaxed” podcast with one of her sisters, Sistine, where they cover everything about adulting and have celebrity guests, including their dad.
Sistine Rose Stallone
The middle Stallone sister, Sistine, was born on June 27, 1998.
Sistine, 25, graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, in 2017.
Prior to graduating, Sistine signed with IMG Models in 2016, taking after her former model mother. She walked the runway for Chanel and appeared on the cover of Town & Country magazine.
In 2017, she told The Hollywood Reporter she didn’t foresee a future in acting. “As for me, I don’t think I could ever act. I’m good for modeling because I don’t have to talk. (Acting) is something you’re born with. My mother is a model. I have dreamed about being a model since I was a little girl,” she said.
Later, Sistine did dabble in acting, starring in the 2019 film “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” and the 2021 movie “Midnight in the Switchgrass” alongside Bruce Willis, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly.
She currently co-hosts the “Unwaxed” podcast alongside her older sister, Sophia.
Scarlet Rose Stallone
Stallone and Flavin welcomed their youngest child on May 25, 2002, Scarlet Rose Stallone.
An athlete like her father, Stallone posted an Instagram video in 2016 of Scarlet coming in first at a track event.
“Scarlet Winning in her division. The FLASH,” he wrote in the caption.
In 2021, Scarlet graduated high school from Campbell Hall in Studio City, California.
In “The Family Stallone” trailer, Scarlet, 21, is labeled as “The Scene Stealer.” Similar to Sistine, her elder sister, Scarlet seems to be following in her dad’s footsteps.
She says in the trailer, “When I was younger, I fell in love with acting.” Scarlet appeared alongside her dad in the 2014 film “Reach Me” and again in the 2022 crime drama series “Tulsa King.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
