Sean Penn has done a surprising U-turn and wants to reconcile with ex-wife Leila George despite the two finalising their divorce just weeks ago.
The estranged spouses began dating in 2016 before tying the knot in July 2020. However, their marriage lasted a year and , 61, in October 2021.
Their divorce was finalised on March 17 when Sean reportedly filed a ‘settlement package to the LA County Courts, although the details of who received what in the split has not been revealed. It’s said the pair had a tight prenuptial agreement regarding their finances in the event that they end the marriage.
Despite going through the proceedings to dissolve their union, Sean has had a change of heart and admits he ‘f****d up the marriage’.
‘We were married technically for one year, but for five years, I was a very neglectful guy,’ he said.
The Licorice Pizza actor also shut down any suggestions that cheating was involved, and explained how he battled depression, causing him to consume alcohol and Ambien at 11am. He cites his obsession with watching the news during ‘the Trump era’ and ‘despairing’.
Sharing further insight into why the marriage broke down, Sean continued in his magazine: ‘Beautiful, incredibly kind, imaginative, talented young women who get married to a man quite senior to them in years, they don’t actually love it when they get up from their peaceful night’s sleep and their new husband is on the couch, having been up since four, watching all of the crap that’s going on in the world and has decided that 10:30 in the morning is a good time to neck a double vodka tonic and an Ambien and say, “Good morning, honey. I’m going to pass out for a few hours and get away from all this s**t”.’
The Fast Times at Ridgemont High star said he doesn’t know what the outcome will be for him and Leila, but described her as ‘my best friend in the world’ and the ‘most influential, inspiring person’ anyone could meet.
Going through the heartbreaking split has led to Sean prioritising his life better, and now makes an effort to spend more time with family while consuming less news and taking less work calls.
‘Even when I’m stressed, I’m never stressed the way I used to be. Because we’ve all had our heart broken at some point,’ he said.
The actor admitted that while he still ‘needs’ vodka and Ambien to fall asleep, he’s no longer using them to ‘hide from the world’.
Sean was previously married to House of Cards actress Robin Wright and they share two children, daughter Dylan, 30, and son Hopper, 28. He was also married to Madonna for four years between 1985 and 1989.
The Hollywood star has thrown himself into work recently, including travelling to Ukraine to film a documentary on the Russian invasion.
