During an August 7 appearance on Matt Barnes’ All the Smoke podcast, former baseball player David Justice claimed that he “decided” to part ways with Halle Berry because he felt she did not possess the qualities of a mother.
Justice and Berry married in 1993 before they parted ways in 1996. The Monster’s Ball actress then went ahead to marry singer Eric Benét. After their split, she married Olivier Martinez. Berry is now romantically involved with singer Van Hunt.
“My knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn’t vast,” Justice, 59, said, per Page Six. “So, I’m looking at my mom — and I’m a Midwest guy. So, in my mind, I’m thinking a wife at that time should cook, clean, [be] traditional, you know?” the former Atlanta Braves star added.
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“Then 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, and then we start having issues.”
READ ALSO: Halle Berry opens up about premenopausal sex, says it felt like ‘razor blades’
Justice, however, stated that their relationship did not also stand the test of time because of their busy careers. “We spent a lot of time apart because she was doing movies in this country, that country. And we honestly probably could have made it if I knew about therapy. If we knew about therapy, we probably could have made it,” he said.
“We never had any major issues like that. It’s just … because I was young and had only been in one real relationship before her,” the 59-year-old added, per Page Six.
Justice also said that when Berry, 58, asked that they get married after being romantically involved for just five months, he was unaware if his “heart was really into it.”
“I said, ‘OK,’ because I couldn’t say no. Who’s going to say no at that time?” he added. He then claimed that he “didn’t want to make her feel bad.”
Justice said that “negative attention” did not come their way until he “decided” to “leave” Berry in 1996. In the wake of their separation, Berry filed for a restraining order against Justice, claiming that her “personal safety and well-being” were in jeopardy.
But Justice in a public response said those claims were untrue and he was not a “threat to Halle.”
READ ALSO: Halle Berry hits back at comments over her inability to ‘keep a man’ after three divorces
