A Comprehensive Timeline of Halle Berry’s Very Dramatic Romantic Life
Halle Berry’s career has been meteoric over the last several decades, but her love life has been decidedly bumpier. Over the years, Berry’s dramatic splits from multiple men have made headlines. She’s back in the news again this week, and while things seem fine with her current love, they are anything but with her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez. Martinez just requested full custody of the son he shares with Berry after claiming she attacked the 12-year-old. Let’s take a look back at all of the confrontations surrounding Berry’s romantic life.
Halle Berry’s early romantic life was marred by heartbreak and divorce
While the latest turn is a legal one that no one saw coming, Halle Berry’s long history of complicated romances stretches back to the 1990s.
In 1993, Berry got a taste of being half of a true power couple when she married baseball star David Justice on New Year’s Day. The marriage was a tabloid fixture, but it didn’t lead to lasting love. The couple separated in 1996 before finalizing their divorce in 1997. Berry later said the breakup left her in a deep depression. There was a mild dust-up between the former flames just recently.
After Justice, Berry moved on to Eric Benét. They began dating in 2000 and married a year later. By 2003, they had called it quits, with Berry citing infidelity as the reason for the split. Benét later entered treatment for sex addiction. Their divorce was finalized in 2005.
Bitter custody battles began with Gabriel Aubry
Following her split from Benét, Halle Berry moved on to model Gabriel Aubry in 2005. Things seemed to be going fairly smoothly for the pair, and they welcomed daughter Nahla in 2008. Less than two years after their daughter’s birth, they opted to go their separate ways. They split in 2010, and what followed was one of Hollywood’s most contentious custody fights.
In November 2012, a judge denied Berry’s request to move to Paris with Nahla. Weeks later, on Thanksgiving, Aubry and Martinez, by then Berry’s fiancé, got into a violent fight in Berry’s driveway that sent both men to the hospital. Aubry claimed Martinez threatened his life, while Martinez told police Aubry attacked first. Restraining orders followed on both sides. Berry was later ordered to pay Aubry substantial monthly child support. Their daughter is now 18.
Things took an odd turn with Olivier Martinez, too
After ending things with Aubry, Berry moved on to Martinez. The pair met on the set of Dark Tide and married in France in 2013. Their son, Maceo, was born that fall. The marriage lasted just over two years, with the couple announcing their separation in 2015. A lengthy legal battle over custody and child support left them legally married until 2023.
The battle didn’t end after the divorce was finalized, though. In 2024, Berry filed for sole legal custody of Maceo, claiming Martinez was interfering with Maceo’s therapeutic and educational needs. The filing sent the former couple into therapy to help them co-parent better. Clearly, it didn’t work out.
On October 1, 2026, Martinez went to Los Angeles Superior Court seeking a domestic violence restraining order and sole custody of Maceo. In the filing, obtained by TMZ, Martinez alleged that during a September 26 confrontation at Berry’s home, she grabbed Maceo around the neck and choked him. He also claimed Berry’s alleged drinking contributed to the incident. Martinez said he still wants Berry to have a relationship with their son, but only after some time and space.
A judge granted a temporary restraining order the same day. Berry must stay 100 yards from Martinez, and her time with Maceo is limited to the court’s existing visitation schedule until a hearing. Berry’s attorney, Marina Beck, called the filing meritless and misleading, though Martinez included text messages in his filing that he says were exchanged with Berry after the alleged confrontation.
The current arrangement may not last long. The former couple is due back in court on October 16, when a judge will decide whether the temporary restrictions remain in place.
