How Sylvester Stallone Learned Janice Dickinson's Daughter Wasn't His — After He Left Jennifer Flavin For Her
He believed he was the baby's father.
Featureflash Photo Agency | Kathy Hutchins | Shutterstock While the news that Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin are divorcing may seem surprising after 25 years of marriage and three children together, it's not the pair's first breakup.
Flavin, who had filed the divorce proceedings, according to TMZ, claimed that Stallone “has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets” — and demanded that he be prohibited from selling or transferring any assets during divorce proceedings.
Only time will tell us what got between the two but the couple endured some rocky beginnings before they tied the knot.
Stallone and Flavin first met in 1988 before confirming their relationship in 1990, however, four years after that Stallone called off the couple's engagement after meeting model Janice Dickinson.
When Stallone met Dickinson, he promptly dumped Flavin via a handwritten FedEx letter after she claimed that Stallone was the father of her newly-born daughter, Savannah.
Janice Dickinson believed Sylvester Stallone was the father of her daughter, Savannah — but later revealed he was not.
Stallone and Flavin had been engaged for six months in 1994 but eventually split just mere weeks after Savannah, who had been given Stallone's surname, was born. A DNA test proved that Stallone wasn't actually her father.
In Dickinson's 2002 autobiography, "No Lifeguard On Duty," she admitted that she'd slept with three men in the span of a week, Stallone, film producer Michael Birnbaum — her partner before she got engaged to Stallone — and an unnamed artist could have been the father. Dickinson believed it was Stallone.
"Things hadn't been going well with Michael for some time, and we split up later that week when I came clean about Stallone," Dickinson wrote, according to Mirror. "But Sly didn't call, as I had expected him to, and a week later I discovered I was pregnant."
"I called Sly and went over to see him. We had supper and made love - he'd improved considerably since our brief debut. Then I told him I was pregnant," she continued, adding that Stallone then asked her, "How do you know it's not Michael Birnbaum's?"
"Well, I didn't - in fact, it could even have been the artist's - but in all honesty, deep down, I felt the child was Sly's."
Six weeks after Savannah was born, Dickinson was walking a fashion show for Versace and Stallone was sitting in the audience. As Dickinson was walking down the runway, she noted in her autobiography, she realized Stallone had left the show, only to find him later in their hotel room.
"'She's not mine,' he said. 'I just heard from the DNA lab in Long Beach. Savannah's not mine. Send my regards to Mr. Birnbaum' - and with that, he stood up," she wrote. "'We had a good run, Janice. Say nice things about me and I'll say nice things about you.' And then he turned and walked out."
After splitting with Dickinson, Stallone reunited with Flavin in 1995, and the two married in 1997, welcoming three daughters together, Sophia, 25, Sistine, 24, and Sophia, 20.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.