Halle Berry says she intentionally took a long break from dating and sex before eventually finding love with her boyfriend, Van Hunt.
In a recent interview with The Times Magazine (as spotted by People), the Oscar-winning actress revealed that she hadn’t had sex for four years before meeting Hunt.
“I was solo and celibate for four years. I had to really sit myself down and be alone and grow and reflect and realize my value,” said the 59-year-old. “I had decided if the right person doesn’t come, I will be alone. And that’s okay. I’m enough by myself. I’ve got my children. I have my career. That’s more than enough. I have an embarrassment of riches.”
When asked if a relationship would have simply been an added bonus, Berry replied, “Yes. And the icing had better be exactly what I want or l’m not going to eat that cake. Because it’s too costly.”
Berry said this mindset came after her 2016 divorce from Olivier Martinez, her third marriage, when she chose to focus on herself before crossing paths with Hunt in 2020.
“I would not have been ready for him before. I had to go through fire and burn to get to the point of appreciating a person like him,” she explained. “I was a moth to a flame. I no longer am that person.”
During a 2024 interview with Marie Claire, Berry described that period as a “sabbatical to understand me.”
She said at the time, “I created my career. I was intentional about that. I knew what I was going to do, and I did it. But I had never been that intentional with my relationships. I was loosey goosey with that. You have to be clear with the universe [or] any old thing will find you.”
She added that the moment she truly understood herself and her past mistakes was when Hunt entered her life.
“It took me a minute to get it right, but the nature of the way this happened, I have a real belief that this is it,” she continued. “This is my person.”
Hunt later revealed in June 2025 that he had proposed, though their engagement is currently on an indefinite pause.
Berry addressed the topic of marriage during an appearance on Today, saying, “I’ve been married three times. Van has been married once. And so, no, we don’t feel like we have to get married to validate our love in any way. We don’t.”
She added, “I think we will get married just because out of the people I’ve been married to, this is the person I should have married. And I feel like I should, we should get married. But it’s not because we feel like we have to. I think it’s something that we would like to do just because we want that expression.”
Berry shares her 17-year-old daughter, Nahla, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and her 11-year-old son, Maceo, with ex-husband Oliver Martinez, whom she was married to from 2013 to 2015. She was previously married to former MLB player David Justice from 1993 to 1997, followed by musician Eric Benét from 2001 to 2005.
Hunt also has a son from a previous relationship.
