Halle Berry's Ex David Justice Reveals Reason for Their Breakup

Cosmopolitan

a day ago

Everyone has a right to tell their story, but when that story involves a trail-blazing, Oscar winning actor, you might want to think twice about what, exactly, you're saying. This is a lesson currently being learned by Halle Berry's ex husband, David Justice.
David, a former MLB player for the Atlanta Braves, was married to Halle from 1993 to 1997, and, for reasons unknown, decided that last week—30 years later—was the time to speak out about why their marriage ended.
'I was young, and had only been in one real relationship before her, my knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn't vast,' he said during an appearance on the All the Smoke podcast.
'I'm looking at my mom, and I'm a Midwest guy,' he continued. 'So in my mind, I'm thinking a wife at that time should cook, clean, you know, and then I'm thinking, 'Okay, if we have kids, is this the woman I want to have kids with and build a family with?' And at that time, as a young guy, she don't cook, don't clean, don't really seem motherly—and then we start having issues.'
Taken in context, David's comments aren't so bad. In fact, it's commendable that he's able to look back 30 years later and admit that he wasn't mature enough to understand that he had a narrow understanding of what a wife and mother would look and act like.
Unfortunately for David, the only part of his interview that went viral was the part about wanting a wife to cook and clean. And fans reacted accordingly, with outrage and a good dose of ridicule.
Were David's expectations for his wife in the '90s reasonable? No. But he also admits in the interview to being immature and having a limited understanding of what it takes to be in a lasting relationship.
Yes, he did go on to shade Halle for how she acted after their split—a contentious divorce during which he claims she badmouthed him publicly—but he ended this segment of the interview saying that he understands why Halle reacted to their split the way she did.
He even took responsibility for ending the relationship abruptly, admitting that he stopped talking to her completely after the initial breakup.
'I just wasn't emotionally mature at that age to really, truly understand the magnitude of how she was really feeling. And I would have done things different back then,' he said.
Given the backlash to his viral comments, I'm guessing he probably wishes he would have done this interview a little differently, too.