Former Major League Baseball star David Justice has broken his long-held silence on the real reasons behind his divorce from Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, revealing intimate details about the short-lived Hollywood marriage that ended in 1997.
Speaking candidly on a recent episode of the All the Smoke podcast with co-host Matt Barnes, the 58-year-old ex-athlete disclosed that their relationship faltered due to what he perceived as a lack of traditional domestic values and motherly instincts in Berry.
“I’m looking at my mom, I’m a Midwest guy. So in my mind, I’m thinking a wife at that time should cook, clean. And I’m thinking, OK, 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 don’t cook, don’t clean, don’t really seem like motherly,” Justice stated.
Justice, who tied the knot with Berry on New Year’s Day 1993, explained that his traditional upbringing in Cincinnati heavily influenced his expectations in marriage. He admitted that his views at the time were shaped by the only serious relationship he had before meeting Halle Berry.
However, he now believes immaturity and lack of relationship tools—especially therapy—played a role in their inability to make the marriage work.
“If I’d known about therapy back then, maybe things could have been different,” he admitted, while emphasizing that he was unfairly painted as the villain in the public narrative of their breakup.
Justice said Berry, now 59, allowed the media to perpetuate the idea that he was solely responsible for the split, which left him battling a tarnished image for years.
“She was dead wrong for making the world believe I was the problem,” he said firmly, stressing that he had stayed silent for decades to avoid public drama.
The couple officially divorced on June 20, 1997. Justice has since been happily married to Rebecca Justice for 24 years, and the couple share two children.
Berry, meanwhile, went on to have two more high-profile marriages—Eric Benét (2001–2005) and Olivier Martinez (2013–2016)—as well as a long-term relationship with Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, with whom she shares a daughter, Nahla, now 17. She also has a son, Maceo, 11, with Martinez. Berry is currently in a relationship with Grammy-winning musician Van Hunt.
Justice’s revelations have sparked widespread debate on social media, with many weighing in on gender roles, cultural expectations, and whether traditional marital standards still hold relevance today. While some fans sympathize with his perspective, others argue that such domestic expectations are outdated and should not define a partner’s worth.
This latest revelation adds another chapter to the often complex and highly scrutinized history of celebrity relationships, highlighting how personal values, cultural backgrounds, and media narratives can either make or break public perception.
As Justice’s comments continue to trend online, one thing is certain—the once-private details of the Berry–Justice marriage have reignited old conversations about love, expectations, and the evolving dynamics of modern partnerships.