Frankie Muniz took to Instagram Saturday with a wholesome family-themed upload after admitting he’d hit “rock bottom” in a previous post.
In a pair of goofy snapshots taken in Scottsdale, Arizona, he sat in the front seat of a vehicle alongside estranged wife Paige Price, with their son Mauz, 5, happily seated in the back.
“Post soccer shenanigans with the fam,” the “Malcolm in the Middle” alum, 40, captioned the post on Saturday.
The proud father added, “Our little dude got a medal for excellence in sportsmanship!”
Just a day earlier, the former child actor took to the same platform to lament a “nightmare” he said he was living.
“The last 6 weeks of my life have been a nightmare I’m praying to wake up from,” he wrote alongside a thoughtful pic of himself seated on a couch.
He added, “Everything [has] felt heavy, unclear, and like it was falling apart at the same time. I wouldn’t wish this season on anyone.”
Muniz reflected on having “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.”
“I’ve read that sometimes hitting rock bottom is the thing that wakes you up,” he continued, noting that “It forces the changes you needed to make all along so you can live the best life possible.”
Muniz went on, asserting that he believed in five years he’d “feel grateful” for the experience in retrospect “because the high I’ll be standing on then only exists because I went through this.”
Muniz wrote that he was prepared to begin the “uncomfortable, unglamorous, necessary work” on himself going forward and to “treat this season as the foundation, not the finish line.”
“If you’re in a low place right now too, you’re not broken,” he concluded. “You’re being rebuilt. Let’s keep going!”
Though the upload finished on an upbeat note, it sparked concern among fans, with one person in the comments thread encouraging the actor — who is now a race car driver — to “ask for, and accept help.”
Price, 33, took to her own Instagram with what appeared to be a cryptic response, writing, “Life is all about perspective. If you ask the grass, the zebra is the monster and the lion is the protector.”
She included a calming video of herself creating a wax seal.
Muniz followed up his post on Saturday morning with an unexpected video about tire safety before sharing the post about his outing with Price and Mauz.
In July, the actor posted and deleted a lighthearted divorce announcement via social media, stating, “Following a period of separation that we kept private, Paige and I have decided to move forward with ending our marriage.”
A video of the family of three dancing together — and the affectionate nature of the announcement, which promised they’d continue to co-parent with “a deep friendship” — caught the ire of some netizens, who criticized the upbeat post.
Price defended her estranged husband in the comments thread, writing, “Frankie, I am so sorry that you felt the need to delete an old funny video of our family because people are so cruel to you. This world is so f–ked.”
Muniz and Price eloped in October 2019 and later tied the knot in a wedding in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2020.
