Hello World,

Pretty hurts, according to Beyoncé. It must. Halle Berry has pretty much been Black America’s poster girl since she was the nice girl to Eddie’s Murphy bad boy in “Boomerang.” A few movies later, all of Hollywood caught on to Halle. Still, despite being pretty, beautiful really, and all of the top Hollywood accolades she has received, her personal life continues to be a challenge for all of the world to see…such is the saga of a Hollywood starlet I guess…

On Oct. 27,  Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez announced that they are divorcing after two years of marriage, making it her third divorce, according to People magazine. While this was news in itself, Berry’s first ex-husband over 20 years ago, David Justice, raised the stakes when he hosted a “Tweetdown” on his Twitter account last week pretty much slamming his ex-wife. Here are a few of tweets, according to the New York Daily News…

“Me, (second husband) Eric (Benet), (boyfriend) Gabriel (Aubry) and Olivier were all her ‘Knight in Shining Armor’ until it ends,” the former MLB star tweeted.

“Then we all become the worst guys in history.”

He also used his Twitter account to clarify that he was not the man who hit Halle Berry in the ear and caused her to go deaf in that ear as some may have thought.

“Reading the latest Halle Berry Reports, it wasn’t me who hit Halle causing the ear damage. Halle has never said that I hit her,” he tweeted.

Even Halle Berry’s second ex-husband Eric Benét went in on Halle after David got the “Tweetdown” started!

“My man at @23davidjustice is tweeting some truth dis’ mornin’!” the musician tweeted.

When I came across this article, I really thought it was a punk thing to do – that is put down your ex-wife while she is already down,but since then, Justice has been interviewed by People magazine and explained why he felt the need to hate on Halle via tweets…

But for Justice, setting the record straight was a long time coming. “For so many years, there has been this cloud upon the guys who were associated with Halle back then,” he says. “Halle has said that she was in abusive relationships but she didn’t name who the abuser was, so for many years I know a lot of people thought it was me.”

In sending those tweets, he says, “All I was trying to do was let the world know that David Justice is not the person who hit her on her head and caused her hearing loss. Not only did David Justice not do that, David Justice never hit her, period.”

Justice also explained that his family is another part of the reason that he is speaking out now.

In addition, his daughter Raquel is an aspiring actress and just landed her first role on ABC’s upcoming show Recovery Road. “If she’s going to be floating around Hollywood, I don’t want anybody bringing this up to her,” he says. “All of us who have kids want to protect them as much as possible, and I felt like this is part of protecting my kids against something that is so bad, so horrific, that her dad can’t be attached to it.” To read the entire article, go to “‘I Never Hit Her’: David Justice Opens Up about His Divorce from Halle Berry, the Abuse Rumors and His Life Now” on people.com.

Now that he has had the opportunity to completely explain himself in a full-length article versus ranting in 140-character character assassinations, I get where he is coming from. And the truth is both David and Eric have moved onto loving marriages while Halle hasn’t had the same luck. Although she declared she would never get married again after divorcing Eric, she did have a five-year relationship with model Gabriel Aubry, according to People magazine. And even though they never married and their relationship produced her first child, a daughter, they still did not stay together. In fact, Aubrey ended up brawling with Halle’s soon-to-be ex-husband. “What followed was a highly publicized custody battle after Berry hoped to move to France with their daughter after marrying Martinez. A judge eventually denied Berry from doing so. In June 2014, the actress was ordered to pay $16,000 a month to Aubry for child support. Things also got physical between Aubry and Berry’s soon-to-be ex-husband during a brawl outside Berry’s home on Thanksgiving 2012; the two were treated for injuries.”

Obviously, the common denominator in all of this relationship drama is Halle. And before I go on, she is not the only celebrity who has been married three times. Steve Harvey is on his third marriage, and he has used his relationship drama (Have you read his relationship books? Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man and Straight Talk, No Chaser) to bring home the bacon (Have you heard of his new bacon product?!!) literally. And there are more whom I can name (and there is a double standard for men versus women for that matter), but Halle is the focus of this post. Halle has intimated that her “picker” may be broken. Check out this excerpt from the “The Slut-Shaming of Halle Berry” on thedailybeast.com.

In that 2002 interview with Barbara Walters, Berry said that she felt she attracted the wrong men before addressing her past as an abuse victim. “If there was a loser in any town—I used to find him!” she declared with a laugh.

She has also admitted that she has used her relationships with men to find her own identity.

“Well, I think I was still using men, and my mate, to identify who I was. And when that was gone, I was nothing.”

Finally, Halle has also admitted that she has been therapy for over 30 years after growing up with alcoholic, abusive father according to a Daily Mail article.

‘My father was an alcoholic and a very abusive one, and my mother knew the value of providing me with the outlet of an unbiased person to talk to, so I’ve done that all my life when times get stressful. It really helps me deal with stuff.’

Maybe Halle should try Him too…(if she hasn’t before…)

What do you think?

Any thoughts?

The post Does Halle Berry’s Third Divorce Make Her a Modern-Day Woman at the Well? appeared first on After the Altar Call.

If you know me, you may be wondering why I, a single woman (with a boyfriend), would be qualified to write a post about divorce prevention…Well, I submit this…What’s the best way to not get divorced? My answer: Not Marry The Wrong Guy…And that I have managed to do so read on…

Today’s post is dedicated to my fellow soon-to-be single sister Kim Kardashian, who as we all know by now, opted to file for divorce from NBA player Kris Humphries after a mere 72 days…But this isn’t her first divorce although her first ex-husband Damon Thomas, a music producer, was reported to file for divorce in this marriage…

The next time that Kim K. decides to get married (and I’m betting that she will since she really seems to want to be a wife), I suggest that she crack open a Bible…Reading these surprising scriptures will likely give her a new perspective on what to look for…

Everyone at some point has heard about 1 Corinthians 13 aka The Love Chapter or he that findeth a wife findeth a good thing or the be equally yoked verse.While these are great verses, they are used over and over again to help people select a mate…The Bible is full of other great but not as popular verses that just may surprise you…

1. “Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” Genesis 24:14  Maybe Kim should consider an arranged marriage (Read the whole chapter for the entire story)….Before you start rolling your eyes, just think about it…The divorce rate in this country should make all of us reconsider what constitutes marriage. Check out this interesting article “Marriage Around the World” on Oprah.com.
2. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ” Romans 12:2 In the world of the Kardashians, it seems that only athletes (Bruce Jenner, Lamar Odom, Kris Humphries) or people somehow connected to Hollywood are suitable mates. Kim should try dating outside of her family’s type and maybe then she would be able to make a more informed decision about whom to marry…Dating outside of Hollywood via Match.com worked for Essence Atkins of TBS’ ‘Are We There Yet?’
3. “Where no wise guidance is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14  It has been reported that Kim & Kris recently saw the pastor that married to help them get closure. I hope that Kim continues to seek guidance from a pastor or a therapist to help her sort through her issues in her failed marriages. If you are the common denominator in a pattern, then you must address it…And she is in Tyler Perry’s new movie “The Marriage Counselor!”
4. “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” Genesis 29:20 From various conversations I’ve had with men and personal experience, I’ve learned that men respect you more when they work to get your love. Kim & Kris met, married & will divorce in just over a year…Maybe if Kim had let Kris work for her love for a long while, she may have discovered that he just wasn’t The One…
5. “His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” Song of Solomon 5:16 I think your husband should be your lover and your friend…Being someone’s lover can happen automatically, but being a friend takes time…From what I’ve read, Kim eloped in her first marriage when she was just 19 years old suggesting an impulsive pattern that just isn’t working for her… patience is a virtue…
6. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 Maybe Kim should take a break from dating and develop her relationship with God first. Maybe if she seeks God first instead of a mate, He may bless her with a mate that is beyond her wildest dreams…They say the right one typically shows up when you’re not looking…
7. “Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.” 1 Corinthians 7:18 This verse brings me back to my original point. The best way to prevent divorce is to not get married…After all, marriage ain’t for erebody…Just ask Halle Berry…

Do you have any advice for Kim? Comment and let me know…

Any thoughts?

 P.S. I hope I don’t sound mean…what do you think?

The post Seven Surprising Scriptures That May Keep You From Getting Divorced… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Although I live in the A, I’ve managed to ignore most of the buzz about the supposed upcoming Freaknik activities this weekend…suffice it to say, I will avoid this event at all costs…however,  roughly 15 years ago, I would have been all up in Freaknik – booty shorts, halter top, Halle Berry cut and all…

I guess that’s why I’m off two opinions about Freaknik…Although Freaknik was always deemed as an event for college-age students, I started going to Freaknik in the tenth grade….of course, when I was in high school, I had to be home by midnight…in college, I didn’t come “home” at all…From what I understand, Freaknik started as a tame picnic in our local parks, but by the time it ended in 1996 or so, it was a raucous street party which served up youthful spontaneity as the appetizer, shameless debauchery as the main course and regretful hangovers as the dessert…And I yet I reveled in it…and I came away from it unharmed because my parents raised me right and I knew better than to do things I would be ashamed of later…it was fun…I was young….etcetera etcetera…

It seems that that people who are criticizing Freaknik now are people who probably partied with the best of them in Freaknik’s heyday…and at the same time, I understand that as responsible adults (including me —wow), we have to make sure that our streets and children are safe. Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed has scheduled a press conference for later today to address these concerns…I guess this verse applies…

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put childish ways behind me. 1 Corinthians 13:11

But it sure was fun back in the day….so in honor of Freaknik in years past, I have posted an article about Freaknik  written by Crystal Paulk  in 1994 for The Red and Black, UGA’s student newspaper…(Yes, I saved the article…it was just that fun…)

Any thoughts?

The post Freaknik 2010? appeared first on After the Altar Call.