Action movie star Sylvester Stallone is officially selling his house in Southern California and “permanently” moving to Florida, he revealed in the latest episode of his reality TV show.
“After a long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided it’s time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we’re going to go to Florida,” Mr. Stallone told his three daughters—Scarlet, 21, Sistine, 25, and Sophia, 27—during the season 2 premiere of his family’s Paramount+ reality TV series, “The Family Stallone.”
“We’re going to sell this house,” he added. “We already have the place, it’s a done deal.”
The 77-year-old actor, most well-known for starring in the “Rocky” movies, purchased a lavish $35.4 million mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2021.
Jennifer Flavin, Mr. Stallone’s wife of 26 years, told Fox News Digital during the inaugural “Rocky Day” celebration in December that she’s “really happy” about their relocation, calling it “an incredible move.”
“I was born and raised there, two of our kids were born there, but now everyone’s out, our daughters moved to the East Coast … so there wasn’t really anything left for me in California,” she said. “A few of our best friends also moved, so I think it’s a good change—just making new friends, living a totally different lifestyle—I love it, I’m really happy.”
The wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Casey DeSantis, welcomed the couple’s announcement in a post on X.
“Welcome to the Free State of Florida!” Ms. DeSantis wrote on Feb. 23 alongside a clip of Mr. Stallone revealing the relocation to his daughters.
“In addition to respecting and protecting your God-given, constitutional right to be free, you can also buy toothpaste without having an armed guard in CVS unlock it for you,” she added.
California Exodus
The couple, married since 1997, are joining a growing list of celebrities and high-profile entrepreneurs who’ve made the move to Florida in recent years, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former NFL star Tom Brady.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 50,701 Californians moved to Florida in 2022, up from 37,464 in 2021.
California had a net loss of more than 113,000 residents in 2022, the data shows, a number that would have been much higher if not for people moving to the state from other countries and a natural increase from more births than deaths.
In total, more than 343,000 Californians left the Golden State for another state in 2022, the highest number of any U.S. state.
Housing costs are key drivers for moving out of California, with its 39 million residents making it the most populous U.S. state, according to Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.
Cities with the highest housing prices, including San Francisco and San Diego, showed the most significant population decline, though movement is spread across the state, according to the data.
“The cost of living in the Bay Area is astronomical. It’s insane,” business owner Luke Wang told The Epoch Times in December. “I moved to save money and have more space.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.