Sylvester Stallone has denied claims that he and his wife ended their 25-year marriage over a disagreement concerning his new dog.
On August 19, the 76-year-old Rocky actor's wife, Jennifer Flavin, reportedly filed a petition "for dissolution of marriage and other relief" in Florida.
Stallone has now come out against rumors that the divorce filing was caused by a series of arguments regarding his rottweiler, Dwight.
The actor told TMZ that he and the 54-year-old model didn't end their decades-long marriage "on such a trivial argument," and that they are both going in different directions.
Stallone continued that he has the "highest respect" for Flavin, adding: "I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met."
The separation comes just days after The Expendables star covered up a tattoo of his wife’s portrait with one of his late dogs named Butkus.
The action led online users to believe that their relationship was in trouble, but Stallone’s representative told Daily Mail that he "intended to refresh the tattoo image of his wife" but the results were "unsatisfactory and, unfortunately, unfixable".
On Wednesday (August 24), the businesswoman described her filing for divorce from her husband as "sad", but said that both parties will move forward amicably.
In a statement to People, she said: "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 the 30-year relationship that we shared, and I know we are both committed to our beautiful daughters," she added. "I ask for privacy for our family as we amicably move forward."
The couple first began their relationship in 1988, when Flavin was 19 and Stallone was 42, and twice divorced. The pair then got married in 1997 and shared three daughters: Sophia, 25, Sistine, 24, and Scarlet, 20.
According to the Independent, court documents indicate that Flavin is also indicting Stallone for allegedly moving assets from their marital funds.
"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 stated.