Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz sparks fan fears as he admits he's at 'rock bottom' amid divorce... while ex shares cryptic message

Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz left fans heartbroken by confessing that he has found himself at 'rock bottom' - two months after the breakup of his marriage.

Muniz eloped with his estranged wife Paige Price in 2019 and they welcomed their son Mauz, five, in 2021 before announcing their split this July.

In a new Instagram post this Friday, he admitted: 'The last 6 weeks of my life have been a nightmare I’m praying to wake up from.'

The 40-year-old actor continued: 'Everything felt heavy, unclear, and like it was falling apart at the same time. I wouldn’t wish this season on anyone.'

However he reflected that the 'unexpected gift in the middle of it is that I’ve had 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. Not the polished version I show the world...the actual one.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Muniz's representatives for comment. 

'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. That idea has been sitting with me,' wrote the former child star.

'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.'

He assured fans: '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.'

Muniz concluded on a note of encouragement to readers: 'If you’re in a low place right now too, you’re not broken. You’re being rebuilt. Let's keep going!'

Admirers responded in the comments with streams of heart emojis and remarks like: 'You got this never give up,' 'Keep fighting brother,' 'We are here for you Frankie! Keep your head up,' and: 'Sending you a big hug Frankie!'

Two hours after Muniz's post, his estranged wife shared an Insta Stories video of herself applying a wax seal, along with the caption: 'Life is all about perspective. If you ask the grass, the zebra is the monster and the lion is the protector.'

He first shot to fame as a teenager portraying the title character on Malcolm in the Middle, which ran on Fox from 2000 to 2006 and featured Jane Kaczmarek and future Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston as his character's parents.

When Muniz announced the collapse of his marriage in July, he struck a tender and amicable tone about the '10 beautiful years' he had spent with Price and stressed he was 'endlessly grateful to Paige for everything she’s done for me and our family.'

Price, who was a TV presenter when Muniz met her, 'put her own dreams on hold so I could chase mine, and she was always my biggest supporter,' he wrote.

'That foundation of respect and friendship isn’t going anywhere. We’re excited to keep building Muniz Racing together and to co-parent our boy with the same teamwork and love we’ve always had,' he said.

Muniz Racing is the brand that he fronts as a race car driver, a career he began pursuing in 2008 shortly after the end of Malcolm in the Middle.

His divorce announcement was accompanied by an ebullient video of him cheerfully dancing with Price and Mauz, accompanied by the caption: 'Who says you can't stay best friends with your baby momma?'

Outrage erupted online over the 'out of touch' clip 'celebrating breaking up his family,' and Muniz quickly deleted the footage from his Instagram page.

Price sprang to his defense, posting: '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...'

She publicly observed that the 'world is so f****d... 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... I can't believe people could scrutinize that.'

Muniz and Price struck up their romance in 2016, got engaged two years later and in 2019 climbed up Camelback Mountain in Arizona to elope.

They held a more formal wedding with their family and friends in February 2020, on the four-year anniversary of the day they first met.

In the couple of years leading up to their divorce, Muniz was candid about the strain his professional commitments had placed on his family life.

He left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! prematurely in 2024 and informed his campmates that he was headed home to be with his wife and son.

'My current situation with my wife and son is…I'm guilty of not noticing what they do for me,' he shared with his fellow competitors. 'Hearing my wife say that my son is sad that I don’t play trucks with him, I realize I've been home so many days, and when I'm home I'm not present. And I'm so ready to be present.'

This April, three months before he and Price went public with their split, he confessed that juggling his marriage and career was 'very hard, I won’t lie,' via Us Weekly. 

'Honestly, my wife is a saint. She’s sacrificing so much for me to live my dream,' he said. '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.'

Muniz pointed out that his family attend 'a few' of his races but noted that 'it's hard to uproot them and take them all over the place,' insisting: 'I want my son to have a routine and his school and his friends and go to church.'

Three months later, in his statement on their divorce, he revealed that he and Price took the decision after a 'period of separation that we kept private.'