Paige Price Muniz, the wife of actor Frankie Muniz, has stepped in to defend her husband over their controversial divorce announcement.
The Malcolm in the Middle star, 40, announced their split after 10 years of marriage in a post on social media on Wednesday (1 July).
Muniz deleted his original video announcement, however, which featured the former couple joyfully dancing together with their five-year-old son Mauz to “Check Yes, Juliet” by We the Kings after it was apparently criticised by some as inappropriate given the nature of the news.
“Who says you can’t stay best friends with your baby mamma?” he wrote in the post, divulging that he and Paige had privately separated prior to the divorce.
After removing the video, Muniz posted a separate announcement alongside a photo of the former couple together with their son.
Paige, 33, spoke out to defend Muniz in the comments of the new post, writing: “Frankie, I am so sorry that you felt the need to delete an old fun video of our family because people are so cruel to you.
"This world is so f***ed... divorce is bad, sure – it’s not like we’re excited about it... but we’re two adults who know how to be on the same team.”
She concluded: “I can't believe people could scrutinise that.”
Asked by one person why Paige chose to address Frankie publicly, she responded: “I did say it to his face. One thousand times. And I’ll say it through text just as much because I genuinely care. That’s the point.”
Paige appeared to reference the public reaction to Muniz’s first post in her own Instagram Story. “The internet is a scary place. I wish you all a kinder sea,” she wrote alongside a black and white photograph of the ocean.
Announcing news of their divorce in the second post, Muniz wrote: “After 10 beautiful years together, we’ve grown in ways that made us realise our relationship feels most natural and strong as a deep friendship and as co-parents. We share an incredible son who remains the centre of our world, and we’re both happier, stronger parents because of the love and growth we’ve shared.
“I’m endlessly grateful to Paige for everything she’s done for me and our family. She put her own dreams on hold so I could chase mine, and she was always my biggest supporter. That foundation of respect and friendship isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re excited to keep building Muniz Racing [their motorsports brand and racing organisation] together and to co-parent our boy with the same teamwork and love we’ve always had.”
Muniz – who recently reprised his role as kid genius Malcolm in the Disney+ reboot of Malcom in the Middle – concluded his post with a request for privacy.
He and Paige met in 2016 and eloped in October 2019 before holding a wedding in February 2020. They welcomed their son, Mauz, in March 2021.
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