Sly and Sage Stallone (Getty Images)One month after the unexpected death of his son, Sylvester Stallone spoke out for the first time about his devastating loss and revealed what has been helping him deal with the pain.
"It's tough. It's very tough," the 66-year-old said in an interview with "Good Morning America," which aired on Tuesday. "It's a horrible situation, but time hopefully will heal, and you try to get through it. It's just something that's a reality of life."
After his 36-year-old son Sage was found dead in his Los Angeles home on July 13, Stallone pulled out of promoting his latest film, "The Expendables 2," in the United States. To deal with his grief, he retreated to Europe with his wife, Jennifer Flavin, and their three daughters for a family holiday aboard a yacht in the Mediterranean. But he was ready to get back to work on August 9, when he joined his co-stars, including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren, at the Paris premiere of the action flick. And on Monday, he hit the red carpet for the London premiere of the film accompanied by Flavin, 44, and their girls Sophia, 15, Sistine, 14, and Scarlet, 10.
Stallone with Jennifer Flavin and their daughters on Aug. 13 (Getty Images)
"I think it's important to get back and start reliving your life," he told "GMA" of his decision to return to work and promote the film, which opens August 17. "Otherwise, you can go into a spiral."
What Stallone didn't address during his brief interview is another personal heartache he is dealing with: His half-sister, Toni Ann Filiti, is critically ill with stage 4 lung cancer and liver cancer, which has spread to her brain. Last week, Stallone's 90-year-old mother, Jackie, told the New York Post, "I am doing terrible after having my grandson go, then my daughter at 48 years old. It isn't easy. ... The doctors don't think she will improve. What can you do? They have done everything. ... What we need is a miracle." She added that her famous offspring was helping Filiti's son, Edmund, from afar. "Sly is in Europe. My grandson says Sylvester has been very helpful to him. Sylvester has been his morale booster."
Stallone and his first wife Sasha Czack — who are also parents to a 33-year-old son Seargeoh — are still waiting to find out the cause of Sage's death. According to the L.A. County Coroner, there were several bottles of pills in his bedroom when he was found. Czack said he was in pain following dental surgery. A toxicology report is pending.
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