The 'Milk' actor asked for "legal separation with minor children" from his spouse of 13 years when he filed the papers at a Los Angeles court last Friday. It is not the first time the couple who have two children together, Dylan, 18, and 15-year-old Hopper Jack - have tried to legally end their stormy marriage.
Penn first filed for divorce in December 2007, but his petition was dismissed. Three days later Wright Penn filed her own paperwork. However, in April 2008, they requested to have their divorce petition dismissed as they wanted to give their relationship another try. They attended the Academy Awards together in February, where Penn won his second Best Actor Oscar for his role as openly gay politician Harvey Milk in 'Milk'.
However, when accepting his award, Penn failed to thank his wife. He later insisted it was not a deliberate slight against Robyn, he merely wanted to acknowledge people involved with the acclaimed film. He said: "I wanted to keep things focused on the professional team around this movie. Because with Robin comes my mother and my son and my daughter, and half of them will punish me if I mention them."
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