Halle Berry isn’t afraid to admit the “pain and anguish” she’s been through when it comes to her personal life. During a Q&A at the 2017 City Summit and Gala at the USC Tower in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 11, the actress, who served as the keynote speaker, opened up about her failed marriages.
“I have learned to deal with three failed marriages, which has not been easy, especially when there’s children involved,” Berry, 50, candidly told the crowd, according to Entertainment Tonight. “[As] women, we go into marriage thinking it’s going to last forever and that this is our prince on a shiny horse. That’s what fairy tales taught me as a kid … and I’m kind of anti–fairy tales today.”
The Call actress, who was previously married to Olivier Martinez, former baseball player David Justice and singer Eric Benet, said of marriage that “when it falls apart it feels like a huge failure and a huge disappointment.”
The Oscar winner shared, “I’ve often felt guilty and responsible. I’ve suffered a lot of pain and anguish.”
Berry, 50, was most recently married to Martinez, with whom she shares 3-year-old son Maceo. The exes split after two years of marriage in October 2015 and just finalized their divorce in December. The Oscar winner was married to Justice from 1992 to 1997 and to singer Benet from 2001 to 2005. She also had daughter Nahla, 8, with ex Gabriel Aubry, though they never married.
However, the Monster’s Ball star said that she learned something from each failed relationship.
“In every one of those situations, as hard — and sometimes embarrassing — as it was, I learned so much about myself,” she said. “All of those relationships were necessary for me. We all come here with lessons that we have to learn, and those relationships provided me with lessons that got me to where I am right now. For that, I’m grateful. But it has been hard. It’s been a difficult part of my life.”
On the bright side of things, Berry concluded she was blessed to have her two children, who she says are her priority in life.
“Right now, being mom is my most important job, and I now know that everything I do, everything I say and everything I offer them is really important,” she said of Nahla and Maceo, while sharing her involvement with the Jenesse Center, a domestic-violence prevention program, which she’s spoken about in the past after revealing her mother suffered from domestic abuse. “I say lots of things, but I think what’s more important is that my children watch what I do. I’m more mindful of how I live my life and what they see me do.”
