How Eric Benét Really Felt About Being With Megastar Halle Berry
Halle Berry’s success as an actor hasn’t transitioned well into her love life. After three failed marriages, she spent some years focusing on self-love before getting into another relationship. None was more public than her marriage to singer Eric Benét, which ended courtesy of Benét’s infidelity. Benét now realizes the pressures of their fame contributed to their breakdown.
Halle Berry’s marriage to Eric Benét ended following a cheating scandal
Berry and Benét met shortly after Berry’s divorce from baseball star David Justice was finalized. The two met in 1997 at a concert at LA’s House of Blues but Berry admits there initially” “weren’t any sparks,” per a July 2002 People Magazine report.
They exchanged emails and kept in contact for more than a year before Berry realized she developed romantic feelings. Three years into their relationship, they became engaged at the Cleaveland premiere of her HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. They married in January 2001 and raised Benét’s daughter together.
Following Berry’s historical Oscar win, rumors began swirling that Benét had been unfaithful. Berry said he came clean about his infidelity after she threatened to sue a tabloid for printing what she thought were lies. Despite the cheating, Berry wanted to make her marriage work and believed her husband had a sex addiction. Benét entered treatment for addiction in an attempt to salvage the marriage.
Related: Why Did Halle Berry and Eric Benét Break Up?
But their attempts to stay together didn’t work. People Magazine reported that they announced their separation in October 2003.
“Eric and I have had marital problems for some time now and have tried to work things out together,” Berry said in a statement. “However, at this point, I feel we need time apart to reevaluate our union. We ask that you respect our privacy as we are going through this emotional time.”
Benét later denied that he was a sex addict. He alleged that the sex addiction theory was a coverup orchestrated by Berry and her mother.
Eric Benét speaks on the pressures of being with Halle Berry
Benét has since moved on and married dancer Manuela Testolini. He and Testolini have two children. Despite him being married to another woman and with a family, Benét is often questioned on his marriage to Berry.
Looking back on the marriage, Benét revealed in a recent interview with ALLBLK, Benét reflects on his whirlwind relationship with Berry and gives insight into the media frenzy that surrounded their love.
“I’ve never really been impressed with the celebrity of somebody or even being a celebrity,” he begins. “To have a disposition like that…regardless of the fact that you’re in a relationship with Halle Berry, for me, it was just that I’m in a relationship with this artistic person who in a lot of ways is weird like me and that’s cool. But, no one can prepare for what happens when you’re trying to still figure out how to deal with each other and maneuver through your relationship when you are living in this fishbowl with this huge spotlight on it.”
Related: Is Halle Berry Single?
Benét previously spoke to People Magazine, echoing similar thoughts by saying “Marriage is a challenge in itself, but when you have a marriage that is dealing with this fishbowl onstage for the whole world to see what’s going on—it’s like, you know, it’s really hard to adjust to that. Yeah, we both read the tabloid stories. It was an incredible, tremendous strain. It was like throwing gasoline on this fire that was already pretty hard to control.”
Berry also moved on, marrying for the third time. She’s since divorced.
