David Justice, the former baseball player, has reflected on his four-year marriage to actress Halle Berry, revealing that their divergent lifestyles and expectations ultimately led to their split.
In an interview on All The Smoke podcast, Justice, 59, admitted that while their romance was passionate, fundamental differences, including Berry’s career ambitions and his traditional views on marriage, made their relationship untenable.
The former professional baseball player met Berry, 58, in May 1992, and five months later, she proposed to him.
The couple tied the knot on January 1, 1993, but Justice confessed he felt pressured to say yes.
“I did not have personal stuff until Halle and I got together. Of course that was a lot of focus. Back in time, I cannot think about anybody that was us. And Halle coming on, young, hot, and she is trying to make her career and she got me,” he said.
“It was not really negative attention until I decided to leave her in 1996. She asked me to marry her after… five months. I said okay because I could not say no. I did not want to make her feel bad.
“I met Halle in May 1992… we got married January 1, 1993. We spent a lot of time together. We could have made it if we had known about therapy. I was young. I have only been in one real relationship before her.”
Justice acknowledged that he was unprepared for the challenges of marriage, especially with a partner equally dedicated to stardom.
He said he envisioned a more traditional dynamic, where his wife would take on domestic roles, a stark contrast to Berry’s rising Hollywood career.
“My knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn’t vast. So I am looking at my mom — and I am a Midwest guy — so, in my mind, I am thinking a wife at that time should cook, clean, [be] traditional, you know?” he asked.
“Then I am thinking, ‘Okay, if we have kids, is this the woman I want to have kids with and build a family with?’ At that time, as a young guy — she does not cook, does not clean, does not really seem motherly, and then we started having issues.”
“February 1996, I just told her I cannot do this no more. We did not have any kids. She did not have no money. I was the one who bought house in Los Angeles, in Atlanta. I was footing everything.”
They separated on February 22, 1996, and divorced on June 20, 1997.
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