Halle Berry’s first ex-husband, David Justice, said he “decided to leave” the actress in 1996 because he couldn’t see her as the mother of his kids.
“My knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn’t vast,” the former MLB player said on Matt Barnes’ “All the Smoke” podcast Thursday.
“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?” Justice continued.
“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.”
The former Atlanta Braves player, 59, confessed that their demanding careers also played a role in their split.
“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 told Barnes, 45.
“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,” Justice admitted.
The former athlete said he didn’t know if his “heart was really into it” when Berry, 58, asked him to marry her after they had only been dating for five months.
“I said, ‘OK,’ because I couldn’t say no. Who’s going to say no at that time?” Justice shared, adding that he “didn’t want to make her feel bad.”
Justice said he and Berry didn’t receive a lot of “negative attention until I decided to leave her in 1996.”
Page Six has reached out to Berry’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Justice and the “Monster’s Ball” star tied the knot in January 1993. They separated in February 1996, and their divorce became finalized in June 1997.
Berry sought a restraining order against Justice, citing fear for her “personal safety and well-being.” The former baseball star publicly denied the allegations at the time, saying he posed “no threat to Halle.”
The Academy Award winner then went on to marry singer Eric Benét from 2001 to 2005 and Olivier Martinez from 2013 to 2016. She is currently dating singer Van Hunt.
Berry shares Nahla, 17, with ex Gabriel Aubry, and son Maceo-Robert, 11, with Martinez.
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