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Frankie Muniz’s estranged wife, Paige Price Muniz, shared a cryptic message about “perspective” hours after the actor opened up about “hitting rock bottom.”
“Life is all about perspective,” Paige, 33, wrote via her Instagram Story on Friday, September 18. “If you ask the grass, the zebra is the monster and the lion is the protector.”
Paige shared a video of her pouring black wax on a white surface, placing a seal on top and waiting until it dried. She set the clip and message to an acoustic version of the Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 hit “Iris.”
The lyrics in the song were also contemplative, including, “And I don’t want the world to see me / ‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand / When everything’s made to be broken / I just want you to know who I am.”
Paige’s cryptic post came shortly after her estranged husband, 40, whom she split from in July, opened up about his recent struggles. (Paige and Frankie share one son, Mauz, born in March 2021.)
“The last 6 weeks of my life have been a nightmare I’m praying to wake up from,” Frankie wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of him sitting alone on a couch in deep thought. “Everything felt heavy, unclear, and like it was falling apart at the same time. I wouldn’t wish this season on anyone.” (The picture he chose was taken by Paige when they were still together.)
The Malcolm in the Middle alum noted that even in the darkness, he’s found the “unexpected gift” of having “nowhere to hide.”
“I’ve had time to sit with myself, do real self-reflection, and finally see the areas of my life that need work if I want to become a better version of me,” Frankie mused. “Not the polished version I show the world … the actual one.”
Frankie, who is now a race car driver, explained, “I read that sometimes hitting rock bottom is the thing that wakes you up. It forces the changes you needed to make all along so you can live the best life possible.”
He revealed that idea had been “sitting with me” as of late as he continues to navigate this rocky chapter.
“In five years I believe I’ll look back at this exact low point and feel grateful for it, because the high I’ll be standing on then only exists because I went through this,” Frankie continued.
The former child star vowed, “This isn’t the end of the story. It’s the part where I start doing the work…the uncomfortable, unglamorous, necessary work. I’m choosing to treat this season as the foundation, not the finish line.”
Frankie concluded with a message of hope, writing, “If you’re in a low place right now too, you’re not broken. You’re being rebuilt. Let’s keep going!”
Both Frankie and Paige’s social media uploads come a little over two months after they announced their separation following six years of marriage.
“After 10 beautiful years together, we’ve grown in ways that made us realize our relationship feels most natural and strong as a deep friendship and as co-parents,” their July 1 statement read. “We share an incredible son who remains the center of our world, and we’re both happier, stronger parents because of the love and growth we’ve shared.”
Ahead of their split, Frankie opened up to Us about his desire to better balance his career with his role as a husband and father.
“It is very hard, I won’t lie,” Muniz exclusively revealed in April after returning to acting for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair. “Honestly, my wife is a saint. She’s sacrificing so much for me to live my dream.”
Frankie noted that while his family does support him on the race track — and was on hand to see his TV return — he didn’t like having to “uproot them” and mess with his son’s “routine” at home.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been very, very, very tough,” he said of having it all, telling Us that he is “constantly trying to be better at” being present for his loved ones.
Frankie confessed, “I know I need to be better. I know it’s not easy for her to be basically a single mother a lot of the time, if I’m being honest.”
While Frankie said that he was back to racing to help provide for Paige and their son, he made it clear that their situation wasn’t totally working.
He added, “I’m going to say this right now, I have to be better than I currently am. I know that 100 percent [my family] deserves it.”
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