Halle Berry has confirmed that she still has not accepted her long-term partner Van Hunt's marriage proposal, nearly six years into their relationship. The 59-year-old Oscar-winning actress opened up about her views on marriage, past divorces, and experiences with racism in a candid interview for the January/February 2026 issue of The Cut magazine.
A Proposal Still on Hold
Berry revealed that Hunt proposed to her last summer, but she has yet to say "yes" to walking down the aisle. The star, who was seen with Hunt in New York City recently, explained her hesitation stems from a belief that marriage isn't necessary for a meaningful relationship. "I haven't said 'yes.' I don't think we need to be married to have a meaningful relationship. I don't know if we will ever get married," Berry told the publication.
Exceptions to the Rule
The actress did acknowledge one potential reason she might reconsider: practical health considerations. Berry insisted that "health reasons" or the ability to make vital medical decisions as each other's legal spouse represent the only exceptions to her general reluctance toward marriage. This pragmatic view highlights her focus on the substance of relationships over formal ceremonies.
Learning from Past Marriages
Berry has been married three times previously—to baseball player David Justice, musician Eric Benét, and actor Olivier Martinez. She explained that each divorce happened for specific reasons, despite facing criticism from outsiders. "After my third divorce, people started to say, 'What's wrong with her? She's crazy. She can't keep a man,'" Berry recalled.
She countered this narrative with a pointed question: "And I would always argue, 'Who says I want to keep a man if he's not the right man?'" This perspective reflects her commitment to personal standards rather than societal expectations about relationships.
Current Happiness with Van Hunt
Despite her hesitation about marriage, Berry emphasized that she's "in the best relationship I have ever had" with Hunt. The couple, who have been together since around 2020, share a deep connection that doesn't require legal validation. Hunt himself confirmed last summer that his proposal remains "still on hold" and "just out there floating," even joking that others might encourage Berry to accept.
Berry elaborated on their mutual understanding: "Well, 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."
A Possible Future Wedding
Interestingly, Berry admitted she does believe they might eventually marry, describing Hunt as "the person I should have married" compared to her previous partners. She teased that a wedding could happen "soon," but stressed it would be because they want that expression of commitment, not because they feel obligated. "I think it's something that we would like to do just because we want that expression," she explained.
Confronting Racism in Hollywood and Beyond
Beyond her personal life, Berry discussed the racism she has faced throughout her career. She recalled a painful high school experience where she won a prom queen vote but was forced to flip a coin with a white student to determine the winner because the school didn't want a Black girl to win. "As a Black girl, I was not the symbol of who they wanted for their queen," Berry remembered.
The Oscar Win That Didn't Change Everything
Berry also reflected on her historic 2002 Oscar win for Best Actress in "Monster's Ball," which made her the first and only Black woman to receive that award. While "wildly proud" of the achievement, she noted it didn't transform her career as she had hoped. "That Oscar didn't necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door," she said.
The actress described how racial biases persisted in Hollywood despite her accolade: "While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, 'If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it's a Black movie. Black movies don't sell overseas.'"
A Fighter's Perspective
Berry characterized her entire life as a fight: "Another thing nobody really gets about me is that I've been a fighter my whole life—fighting to be seen for who I really am, fighting to be taken seriously as an artist, fighting the stigma of beauty." This resilience has defined both her personal and professional journey.
She once warned fellow actress Cynthia Erivo that Oscar recognition wouldn't "change her life," advising that awards shouldn't be the primary validation for an artist's work. Now, Berry finds success in simply continuing to do what she loves: "As a Black woman, now almost 60, I still get to work in movies and do what I love. I'm winning."
With 45 feature films to her credit and a fulfilling relationship with Hunt, Berry's story illustrates a complex balance between personal contentment, professional perseverance, and challenging societal norms about both marriage and race in the entertainment industry.
