Though Sean Penn and Leila George had been together since 2016, they only got married in July 2020, and by October 2021, George had already filed for a divorce. Let us look at what transpired between the then couple.
Sean Penn and Leila George during the process of the divorce, were reported to have retained their own private judge in order to expedite the divorce process through California’s backlogged courts.
The Oscar winner, 61, and the Australian actress, 30, first became romantically linked in 2016, and they later married in July 2020. George then filed for divorce in October 2021 after just over a year of marriage.
Their divorce was finalized and approved, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE. TMZ was first to report the news.
The documents state that Penn and George officially separated in September 2021, and cite irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their breakup. Neither is seeking spousal support from the other.
How did Penn feel after the divorce?
In April 2022, Penn spoke with the magazine Hollywood Authentic in support of his work in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion, and he also opened up about his relationship as well, including how he “f—– up the marriage” by being “very neglectful.”
“There’s a woman who I’m so in love with, Leila George, who I only see on a day-to-day basis now, because I f—– up the marriage. We were married technically for one year, but for five years, I was a very neglectful guy,” he said.
“I was not a f—— cheat or any of that obvious s—, but I allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important, and that included my place in being totally depressed and driven to alcohol and Ambien at 11 o’clock in the morning, by watching the news, by watching the Trump era, by watching it and just despairing,” Penn continued.
The Gaslit star added of George, “And as it turns out — this is going to shock you — 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 4, 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—.’ “
“As it turns out, women as described, they don’t love that,” he said.
Penn added at the time that he doesn’t “know what’s going to happen with us,” but, “I know that this is my best friend in the world and definitely the most influential, inspiring person, outside of my own blood, that anybody could ask to have in their life.”
Has Penn been in any previous relationships?
Penn was previously married to Robin Wright, 56, with whom he shares daughter Dylan, 31, and son Hopper, 28. He was also wed to Madonna from 1985 to 1989.