By D. Lawrence and Matt DeMarco for Daily Mail Australia
13:01 14 April 2024, updated 13:11 14 April 2024
Frankie Muniz left his campmates shocked and in tears as he became the first celebrity to voluntarily leave I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Australia.
The Malcolm In The Middle child star, 38, left the South African jungle in emotional scenes on Sunday night’s episode after admitting he felt guilty about his relationship with wife Paige Price and their three-year-old son Mouse Moseley.
“My current situation with my wife and son is… It’s my fault that I don’t notice what they’re doing to me,” he told his camp friends during the episode.
“Hearing my wife say that my son is sad that I’m not playing trucks with him makes me realize that I’ve been home so many days, and when I’m home, I’m not present. And I am so willing to attend.
He ended his tearful speech with “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here.”
His fellow celebrities, including Brittany Hockley and Sky Wheatley, were stunned by the outing.
They both cried as Agent star Cody Banks hugged them before they left for good.
Munitz had previously broken down after friends from his celebrity camp asked how being a child actor affected his family life.
The former actor, who first started appearing in the hit comedy series aged 11, said his career was partly responsible for the breakdown of his parents’ marriage.
“Malcolm took us to LA,” he began. “My mom and I went, but my sister stayed with my dad in North Carolina.”
“But my mother and father divorced during that time. So in that sense, it’s kind of sad to think that it’s really torn the family apart,” he continued, visibly moved to tears.
“I don’t know how much positive it brought to the family. I haven’t been part of the family since I was 11 because that’s when I left,” added the child turned racing star.
His admission comes shortly after Frankie admitted he was set for life because he was able to retire as a teenager on his Malcolm In The Middle earnings and still receives residual checks to this day from overseas reruns.
Last week, the former actor told campmates he was worth a staggering $40 million (A$61 million) when he was 19.
The celebrities discussed online trolling, with Munitz admitting to hitting back at offensive comments about him on social media platforms.
“This guy wrote, ‘I’m sorry, but your game is just terrible.’ I was in a movie and I was like, “Yeah, it is, but you know what’s not terrible? Being retired at 19 with $40 million. Good luck moving out of your mom’s house before you’re 35,” he said.
“His Twitter name was ‘I heart Mountain Dew.’ Like, OK,” he added.
Fellow celebrity Brittany Hockley went on to ask Muniz if he’s made enough money to fully retire.
“Oh, 100 percent,” he replied.
“But I’m neurotically motivated. I’ve just always worked since I was eight years old. I don’t know how to just be in the moment and not be focused on what I’m doing next.
According to The Daily Telegraph, by the end of the show’s run, Muniz was earning approximately A$230,000 per episode, unadjusted for inflation.
The star put his Hollywood career aside to focus on racing and was also briefly the drummer for a band called You Hang Up from 2012 to 2014.
