David Justice has finally revealed the painful turning point that led to the end of his marriage with Halle Berry. In a raw and revealing conversation, the former MLB star opened up about the doubts that crept into their relationship — and the one question he asked himself that changed everything.
What he said might surprise even longtime fans.
From Whirlwind Romance to Early Doubts
When David Justice met Halle Berry in May 1992, sparks flew instantly. So quickly, in fact, that Berry proposed after only five months of dating. Justice admitted on All the Smoke podcast (Aug. 7) that he said “yes” largely because he couldn’t bring himself to say “no” to the Hollywood star.
Looking back, Justice, now 59, says he wasn’t sure his heart was truly in it from the beginning. But at the time, caught in the whirlwind of new love and Berry’s star power, he went through with the wedding in 1993.
For the first several months, everything seemed fine — the “honeymoon phase” was still in full swing. But around the five-month mark, Justice began asking himself a life-changing question:
“If we have kids, is this the woman I want to have kids with and build a family with?”
Justice admitted his mindset then was shaped by his Midwest upbringing. He expected a “traditional” partner who cooked, cleaned, and embodied a motherly role. Realizing Berry didn’t fit that mold planted seeds of doubt that eventually grew into irreconcilable differences.
Distance, Career Demands, and Missed Chances
Justice recalled that their problems escalated over time, especially as Berry’s acting career took her around the world. Long stretches apart created emotional distance, and neither of them sought therapy — something Justice now believes could have saved their marriage.
“We honestly probably could have made it if I knew about therapy,” he reflected. “We never had major issues. I was just young and had only been in one real relationship before her.”
By 1996, Justice decided to leave, and their divorce was finalized in 1997. The split came with an intense spotlight, something Justice says wasn’t an issue until he made the decision to end things.
Since then, Justice has remarried — tying the knot with Rebecca Villalobos Justice in 2001 — and built a family of his own. Berry, now 58, has also moved forward, marrying and divorcing Olivier Martinez, and is currently in a relationship with singer-songwriter Van Hunt, who recently proposed.
Berry has publicly addressed criticisms that she “can’t keep a man,” telling The Drew Barrymore Show:
“Who’s to say I want to keep a man? I don’t want to keep the wrong man… We all make mistakes, and we have the right to start again.”
Today, Berry is a mother to two children — daughter Nahla (17) with ex Gabriel Aubry, and son Maceo-Robert (11) with Martinez — and says she feels content in her relationship with Hunt, with marriage possibly on the horizon.
Justice, meanwhile, remains reflective about what went wrong with Berry. The doubts he voiced in the 1990s still stand as a reminder of how one question, asked at the wrong time, can change the course of a marriage forever.