Sean Penn, 65, looks completely dejected as he makes a rare red carpet appearance with glamorous girlfriend Valeria Nicov, 30, at the 17th Film Festival Lumiere opening ceremony

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Red carpet events are typically joyful occasions, but Sean Penn seemed unaware of this at a recent premiere in France on Saturday night.

The Hollywood actor appeared unhappy and out of place at the opening ceremony of the 17th Lumière Film Festival in Lyon.

Despite walking the red carpet hand-in-hand with his much younger and glamorous girlfriend, Valeria Nicov, he still didn’t appear to be enjoying himself.

Sean Penn was seen out with the Moldovan actress, age 30, who wore a beautiful, dark blue dress with a low-cut front.

The actor looked sharp in a black suit and t-shirt as he and his partner found their seats at the yearly event.

Nicov was raised in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, and now lives in France. She’s known for her role in the popular Netflix series *Emily in Paris*, where she acted alongside Lily Collins.

I’m seeing reports that Sean Penn is dating someone new, and it’s interesting considering his recent relationship history. This comes about three years after his split from Leila George, his third wife, which was a fairly short marriage – just 15 months, actually. It’s always fascinating to see how people move forward after a relationship ends!

He started dating Valeria only a few months after publicly stating how happy he was being single and wanting a relationship that gave him plenty of freedom.

He explained to the New York Times that he values his independence. He said he’d only be in a relationship if he could still maintain that freedom, and he wouldn’t want to be in a situation where he was unhappy or causing pain.

In an interview with longtime New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Sean Penn stated he doesn’t expect to fall in love again, suggesting he’s moved past romantic heartbreak.

The actor was married to pop star Madonna for three years, but they divorced in 1989. Despite having a famously rocky relationship, they’ve since become friends.

He later married Robin Wright, the actress known for her role in *Forrest Gump*. They have a daughter, Dylan, who is 33, and a son, Hopper, who is 30 – the same age as his current partner.

Sean Penn married his second wife in 1996, and after a relationship lasting twenty years with many breakups and makeups, they finally separated permanently in 2010.

Despite their past difficulties, they’ve successfully become friendly co-parents, although Penn has admitted it took a significant amount of time and conflict to get to a peaceful place.

Just before his divorce became official, the actor revealed to Hollywood Authentic that he still had strong feelings for his soon-to-be ex-wife, Leila, whose parents are Vincent D’Onofrio and Greta Scacchi.

I was really heartbroken to hear him talk about our marriage. He basically said he messed things up badly. He admitted he wasn’t a good husband – even though we were officially married for just a year, he said he’d been distant and neglectful for five years before that. It was tough to hear, but at least he was honest about how he feels.

‘I was not a f***ing cheat or any of that obvious s***, but I allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important,’ he said. 

I found myself deeply depressed, to the point where I was reaching for alcohol and sleep aids like Ambien by late morning. This was largely triggered by constantly watching the news, particularly during the Trump presidency, and feeling increasingly hopeless about everything.

He observed that young, beautiful, kind, and creative women who marry much older men often don’t appreciate being woken up to find their husbands already up since four in the morning, exposed to negative news, and starting the day with a strong drink and a sleep aid. He described a scenario where a husband might wake up at 10:30 AM, drink a double vodka tonic with an Ambien, and then announce he’s going back to sleep to escape the world’s problems.

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2025-10-12 17:33