Halle Berry Finally Gets Engaged at 59 After Her Partner Waited Months for an Answer — Details

Halle Berry is officially engaged at 59 — but the road to "yes" wasn’t straightforward. After months of confusion, patience, and a headline-making ring, the Oscar winner finally set the record straight.

For months, Halle Berry’s relationship status felt oddly unresolved. She was openly in love, publicly devoted, and deeply settled — yet one key detail remained unclear.

The uncertainty grew after Berry and musician Van Hunt previously revealed that he had already proposed. The proposal existed, but without confirmation, speculation took over. Berry ultimately decided to shut down the confusion herself.

On February 5, 2026, Berry addressed the rumors during an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," setting the record straight as the exchange quickly captured audience attention.

She explained to host Jimmy Fallon that reports claiming she had rejected Hunt's proposal were incorrect. As she spoke, an audience member shouted, "Yes!" prompting both Berry and Fallon to respond in unison: "No!"

"No, sir, stop," Fallon joked, laughing as he briefly covered his face before reaching over to give Berry a reassuring pat on the arm. Berry smiled as the moment drew laughter and applause from the crowd.

She then clarified her and Hunt's status, "That's not the case. I did not say no. We just don't have a date. But of course I said yes, I would marry him." Fallon welcomed the confirmation enthusiastically, replying, "All right. Good. Come on. Yay!"

Berry capped off the moment with a playful confirmation that quickly became the takeaway line of the night. She said, "He did put a little ring on it."

The answer resolved months of speculation and immediately shifted attention to the ring itself. Because that detail turned out to be a story of its own.

The Engagement Ring Experts Say It's Unlike Anything Else

Once the engagement was confirmed, attention shifted quickly to Berry's engagement ring. Jewelry experts say it stands apart from what is typically seen on celebrity hands.

According to People, the ring places Berry at the center of a "never seen before" trend that favors bold, sculptural designs over traditional solitaires.

Chau Lui, co-founder of CELI, told the outlet the ring reflects several modern movements while remaining deeply personal. Rather than spotlighting a single stone, the design emphasizes structure, individuality, and symbolism.

At the center is a bezel-cut diamond estimated at around 2 carats, surrounded by more than 20 colored diamonds and precious gemstones arranged in an architectural cluster. Lui believes the stones are set in yellow gold, a choice that reinforces the ring's non-traditional design.

Kegan Fisher, CEO and co-founder of Frank Darling, described the piece as an "architectural interpretation of modern maximalism." She pointed to its use of negative space, geometric forms, and the confident mix of diamonds and sapphires as signs that the ring feels current, and possibly ahead of what is coming.

Fisher said the design may signal a 2026 trend, predicting more brides will gravitate toward sculptural, never-before-seen engagement rings.

Jillian Sassone, founder of Marrow Fine, agreed, calling the ring a true statement piece. She said it reflects a growing shift toward bold, non-traditional designs that immediately stand out.

That level of craftsmanship does not come cheaply. Experts told the news publication that rings in this category often reach the high five figures.

Given the number of stones and complexity, Fisher estimated the setting alone could approach $200,000, placing Berry's ring well into six-figure territory.

The ring's long journey mirrored the proposal itself. And that proposal was never rushed.

Why the Proposal Took Time

Van Hunt confirmed in a June 2025 interview with Today that he had already proposed to Berry, even as fans continued to wonder if it had happened.

At the time, Hunt said the proposal was still unresolved, joking that it was simply "out there floating." Berry laughed alongside him, signaling the pause was intentional rather than tense.

Berry explained that the delay reflected her reservations about marrying again after three divorces. She said her perspective on marriage has shifted with time:

"But 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 also shared that friends and family had been thrilled to see the joy Hunt brought into her life. She said she had always envisioned herself in a committed relationship rooted in friendship, respect, and love.

At the time, when asked when she planned to say "I do," Berry offered a single word: "Soon."

That answer carried weight because of everything that came before it.

A Look Back at Halle Berry's Past Marriages

Berry has been married three times, each relationship unfolding under public scrutiny.

Her first marriage, to former MLB player David Justice, ended in divorce in 1997, according to People in November 2015. During the split, Berry filed for a restraining order alleging Justice threatened to break into their home. The report noted Justice said Berry never accused him of domestic violence.

Her second marriage, to R&B singer Eric Benet, also came to an end after nearly three years. As reported by Today in April 2004, Berry filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court after the couple separated in October 2003, a move confirmed by her publicist, Karen Samfilippo.

Tabloids reportedly had speculated about Benet's faithfulness during the marriage, though no further details were publicly addressed.

Berry's third marriage, to actor Olivier Martinez, resulted in divorce after more than two years. In a joint statement to People in December 2020, the couple said they would move forward with love, respect, and a shared focus on their child.

"We wish each other nothing but happiness in life and we hope that you respect our and, most importantly, our children's privacy as we go through this difficult period," the statement added.

While Berry has kept her focus on the present, her first marriage has continued to draw attention years later through Justice's own reflections on their highly publicized relationship.

David Justice Reflects on His Marriage to Halle Berry

As previously reported, Justice appeared on the YouTube show "All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and & Stephen Jackson" in an episode released on Thursday, August 7, 2025. During the segment, Justice opened up about his relationship with the actress.

The former couple had met in May 1992 and wed not long after, in 1993. However, it wasn't until their separation in 1996 that the attention took a negative turn.

"She asked me to marry her after knowing me for five months. I said OK, because I couldn't say no. You know?" Justice said. "And I said okay, but I don't know if my heart was really into it, but I didn't want to make her feel bad and say no, you know or, like — I was just in the moment."

Justice admitted that Berry's proposal caught him off guard, but despite his uncertainty, the pair still married. The former baseball player said he and Berry spent a lot of time apart due to her travel schedule for work.

In hindsight, he felt their relationship could have worked if they had gone to therapy. "If we knew about therapy, we probably could have made it. And we never had any major issues like that. It's just that I — because I was young and had only been in, honestly, one real relationship before her," Justice said.

He added that, at the time, his knowledge and understanding of relationships was limited. "So, 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, traditional you know," he explained.

He continued, "And then I'm thinking okay, if we have kids, you know, is this the woman I want to have kids with and build a family with. And at that time as a young guy, she don't cook, don't clean, don't really seem like motherly and then we start having issues."

Justice's remarks about traditional relationship roles rubbed fans the wrong way, as one person exclaimed, “This is so insane. This man was a drug addict and he abused her but ‘he left cause she didn't cook or clean!’”

“So unnecessary,” another said. “He is so childish it’s 30 years later,” a third added. “You look goofy and it's disrespectful,” someone else wrote.

Justice on the Breakup and Its Aftermath

Justice later shared that he and Berry never had infidelity issues. However, once the "honeymoon stage" was over, he realized that Berry wasn't the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"So, February 1996, I told her, 'Yeah, I can't do this no more.' We don't have any kids. You said you wouldn't want any money from me if we — 'cause really, she didn't have any money," he claimed.

He continued, "I was the one who bought the house in LA. I was the one who had my house in Atlanta. I'm really footing everything. And I said, you know, you said you didn't want any money, so we don't have any kids. We should just make a clean break."

Berry apparently didn't want to accept the break-up, and coincidentally, a slew of rumors about Justice — including being involved with other women — began swirling around. The 59-year-old recalled his mother encouraging him to "take the high road," and not speak ill of his then-wife.

However, another rumor emerged, alleging that Justice was abusive towards Berry. The actress had once opened up about being in a relationship with a man who had hit her on the side of her head, causing permanent hearing loss in her left ear.

Berry had never named her attacker, but the public was quick to assume it was Justice. The former outfielder has often denied ever laying a hand on Berry, but the rumor has persisted and followed him for decades.

"One thing I didn't like is, [...] she let you think that. She let the world think it. She didn't come out and say, 'Oh, no, no, it wasn't David. But I'm not going to say who it was, but it wasn't him.' No, she let the world think that it was me," Justice said.

The pair finalized their divorce in June 1997. Justice later remarried Rebecca Justice in 2001, and the pair welcomed three children together. Still, despite moving on quietly with his life, the rumor that he abused Berry continued to haunt him.

He had remained mostly silent about the speculation, but eventually spoke up in 2015. Justice went on a rant on X (then known as Twitter), addressing the allegations in tweets directed at Berry. He emphasized that he had never hit her during their relationship.

"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," he told People at the time.

Justice's messages on X coincided with Halle's separation from her third ex-husband, Olivier Martinez, and netizens questioned why he was only speaking up after so long. He explained that he didn't want to fight Berry in the media amid their split.

He also admitted that he lacked the resources he needed to truly set the record straight. "As a baseball player back in those days, there were no publicists; I didn't have a team. Halle had managers, lawyers, publicists, etc. It was Team Halle versus me," he said.

But, by keeping quiet, more hearsay emerged, and the longer he stayed quiet, the more people thought the rumors were true. When he finally spoke out, it was as much about clearing his name as it was about protecting his family's dignity.