David Justice, Halle Berry’s ex-husband and former MLB player, recently took a nostalgic detour into the 1950s during a podcast appearance, explaining that he divorced Berry because she didn’t cook, clean, or seem “motherly” enough.
Yes, you read that right. Apparently, the Oscar-winning actress wasn’t giving off enough Stepford Wife energy for his Midwest sensibilities.
Justice, who was married to Berry from 1993 to 1997, said he was looking for someone who could “build a family” with him. Someone who would presumably whip up meatloaf while vacuuming in pearls. Instead, he got Halle Berry: global icon, barrier-breaking actress, and a woman who, shockingly, had a career and ambitions of her own.
Let’s pause here and ask the obvious: If I were Halle Berry, would I be wasting my time cooking and cleaning? Absolutely not. I’d be too busy being the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Monster’s Ball. I’d be too busy starring in X-Men, Die Another Day, and John Wick: Chapter 3. I’d be too busy launching my own production company, directing films, and being a Revlon spokesmodel since 1996.
Justice’s comments are more than just tone-deaf, they are a masterclass in outdated gender expectations. The idea that a woman’s worth in a relationship hinges on her domestic skills is not only archaic, it’s insulting. Berry wasn’t auditioning to be a housekeeper. She was building a legacy. And let’s be honest, if you marry Halle Berry and your biggest complaint is that she didn’t make you a sandwich, the problem is not her, it’s you.
This isn’t just about one man’s misguided expectations. It’s about the broader societal pressure women face to be everything to everyone career-driven but nurturing, independent but accommodating, glamorous but grounded. Berry’s refusal to conform to these roles should be celebrated, not criticised.
And let’s not forget the racial undertones here. Black women have long been stereotyped as either hyper-maternal or harshly independent, with little room for nuance. Berry shattered those moulds. She didn’t just win an Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball, she opened doors. In her acceptance speech she said “it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened”. She made history not just for herself, but for generations to come. And she did that wearing a fabulous Elie Saab dress, that ironically, launched Saab’s career in Hollywood.
So, when Justice says he left because she didn’t fit his image of a wife, what he’s really saying is that he couldn’t handle a woman who didn’t shrink herself to fit his expectations. And that’s not a reflection on Berry, it’s a reflection on him.
The backlash online was swift and deserved. One fan summed it up perfectly: “You married Halle Berry in her prime as a movie star and expected her to cook and clean? Bye, Felicia”. Another added, “He wanted a maid, not a wife.” Honestly, if Berry had spent her time scrubbing floors instead of breaking glass ceilings, we would all be worse off.
In a world where women are still fighting for equal pay, representation, and respect, Berry’s story is a reminder that we don’t owe anyone domesticity. We owe ourselves ambition, fulfillment, and the freedom to define our own roles. If that means outsourcing the vacuuming, so be it. And yet, in a curious twist of cultural regression, we’re seeing a rise in the “tradwife” trend where domesticity is not just embraced, but glamorised. With millions of views on TikTok and a growing number of Gen Z men expressing support for traditional gender roles, it seems some corners of the internet are nostalgic for a time when women’s choices were limited to “meatloaf or casserole.”
But let’s not confuse aesthetic with empowerment. Choosing homemaking is valid but romanticising a past where women couldn’t own property or vote without a man’s blessing? Not so much. Feminism isn’t anti-home, it’s pro-choice.
Whether you’re baking bread or breaking records, the point is that it’s your decision, not society’s expectation.
So, here’s to Halle Berry who didn’t cook, didn’t clean, and didn’t conform. And thank goodness for that.
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