Halle Berry acknowledged her 59th birthday this week with a celebratory post that doubled as a rebuke of her ex-husband David Justice’s headline-making assessment of their marriage.
On Thursday, the “X-Men” actor shared a carousel of images on Instagram showing her and longtime boyfriend Van Hunt enjoying a tropical beach getaway. Also included was a snapshot of a birthday card from her children, as well as a delectable-looking chocolate cake.
“Phew…! cooking, cleaning and mothering,” she wrote in the caption.
Hunt also honored Berry with a post on his Instagram calling her “resilient.”
“the shots just bounce off u,” he wrote.
Ron Galella via Getty Images
Berry’s remark was a pointed response to Justice’s interview on the “All The Smoke” podcast last week. The former Major League Baseball player, who was married to Berry from 1993 to 1996, suggested the actor hadn’t met his expectations as a spouse because she hadn’t been “traditional” enough.
“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, and then I’m thinking, OK, if we have kids, is this the woman I want to have kids with, build a family with,” he said. “And at that time as a young guy, if you don’t cook, you don’t clean, don’t really seem motherly, and then we start having issues.”
Elsewhere in his “All The Smoke” appearance, Justice said Berry had asked him to marry her after about five months of dating, and that he “couldn’t say no” to her proposal despite having mixed feelings.
Marc Piasecki via Getty Images
“I said OK, but I don’t know if my heart was really into it,” he explained. “But I didn’t want to make her feel bad and say no.”
In 1996, Berry revealed to People that one of her former boyfriends had been physically abusive, and once hit her in the head so hard that she lost hearing. Though the actor never named her abuser, many were quick to speculate that it was Justice.
Justice has long denied the claims, a point he reiterated in his podcast chat.
As of Thursday afternoon, Berry’s post had drawn a plethora of supportive comments from her followers.
“Stay unbothered! I love this for you!” one person wrote.
Added another: “Bahahhaaaaa Caption Queen. Love you!”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2172470347-a939ffd648b348f99c7ea4d6e7c56c34.jpg "Halle Berry Wears Tiny Knit Bikini For Birthday Trip With Van Hunt")