Academy Award winner shares vacation images with pointed caption after David Justice podcast remarks
Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry marked her 59th birthday Thursday with a series of vacation photographs that appeared to reference recent comments made by her former husband, retired baseball star David Justice.
Berry posted multiple images from a tropical getaway with boyfriend Van Hunt on Instagram, showing herself in various swimwear while enjoying beach and boat activities. The caption read: “Phew…! cooking, cleaning and mothering.”
The post came one week after Justice discussed their 1990s marriage during an appearance on former NBA player Matt Barnes’ “All the Smoke” podcast, aired August 7.
Justice, who won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1990 and helped the Atlanta Braves capture the 1995 World Series championship, reflected on his expectations as a young husband during the interview.
“My knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn’t vast,” Justice said. “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, now 58, married Berry in 1993 when both were at career peaks – he was a three-time All-Star with the nationally televised Braves, while she was starring in major Hollywood productions including “Boomerang” and had a lucrative Revlon contract.
“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,” Justice continued during the podcast.
The couple divorced in 1997 after Berry filed citing irreconcilable differences in April 1996.
Justice’s candid remarks drew criticism on social media platforms, though the former athlete was describing his personal mindset at age 27 during his first serious relationship, influenced by his Midwestern upbringing and family background.
During the podcast, Justice acknowledged growth in his perspective, stating that he and Berry “probably could have made it if I knew about therapy” and emphasizing they “never had any major issues” beyond the disconnect between his traditional expectations and her entertainment career demands.
Berry’s Instagram post featured photographs of her in gold and white bikinis, including shots of her laughing while holding a coconut drink and relaxing on a boat with Hunt. Celebrity friends including actresses Julianne Moore and Jurnee Smollett commented with birthday wishes.
Berry, who has two children – daughter Nahla, 17, with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, and son Maceo-Robert, 11, with ex-husband Olivier Martinez – has been in a relationship with musician Van Hunt since 2020. Hunt revealed their engagement during a June interview with Today.com.
Justice remarried in 2001 to businesswoman Rebecca Villalobos. The couple has three children.
Neither Berry nor Justice’s representatives responded to requests for comment.
