Halle Berry commended Gayle King for speaking out about her ex-husband’s infidelity – before sharing rare insight on her own story with a cheating ex-partner.
The Catwoman star, 59, said it was a topic that should be discussed during an appearance on NBC’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle on Thursday.
‘I think we should talk about it, absolutely. I’m proud of [King] for, you know, saying that and sharing this… because it has happened to many of us,’ Berry told the hosts.
She has good reason to identify with King’s shocking confession, having dealt with similar betrayal after her second husband, musician Eric Benet, admitted to being unfaithful during their marriage.
Benet made the choice to seek treatment for sex addiction in 2002 and publicly apologized for cheating on his then-wife.
Speaking on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast two years ago, Berry was dubious of Benet’s claims that he was a sex addict.
Halle Berry commended Gayle King for speaking out about her ex-husband’s infidelity – before sharing rare insight on her own story with a cheating ex-partner on Thursday’s episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle
She had good reason to identify with King’s experience, having dealt with similar betrayal after her second husband, musician Eric Benet, admitted to being unfaithful during their marriage; they are pictured in 2002
‘I don’t f****ing believe that s**t,’ Berry said.
Berry didn’t name Benet as the cheating spouse on the Today show, but all fingers pointed to him.
She went on to tell hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones that she ‘didn’t go on a public rampage’ as the cheating scandal circulated in the media, but ‘you remember every detail of the whole situation, and it stays with you forever.
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‘When you can share it, somehow that’s therapeutic. It’s a catharsis when you can really share it and someone else can say what their experience has been.
‘So I appreciate [King],’ added the Oscar winner.
King got candid about how her marriage to lawyer William Bumpus came to a crashing end in 1990 on a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast.
King revealed she arrived home unexpectedly to find Bumpus ‘buck naked’ with her best friend, who was also married.
‘You know how they say the wife always knows? I swear to God, I did not. I did not,’ the CBS Mornings co-anchor told host Alex Cooper. ‘And people say, “But of course you knew.” No, I really didn’t.
‘I think we should talk about it, absolutely. I’m proud of [Gayle King] for, you know, saying that and sharing this… because it has happened to many of us,’ the Oscar winner shared
Berry didn’t name Benet as the cheating ex-spouse on the Today show, but all fingers pointed to him
King got candid about how her marriage to lawyer William Bumpus came to a crashing end in 1990 on a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast
King and Bumpus (pictured) tried to make it work but could not and they divorced in 1993 after 11 years of marriage
‘Now it’s not like we hadn’t had arguments or anything, but I didn’t think it was in such disrepair that he was boinking around… I did not think that.’
King and Bumpus tried to make it work but could not. They divorced in 1993 after 11 years of marriage. They had two children, daughter Kirby, 40, and son William Jr, 39.
‘I realized he hadn’t really changed, but I was turning into such a shrew,’ King recalled. ‘I would be out in the garage feeling the hood of the car to see if it was warm. I was going through his phone. And I thought, “I don’t want to live like this,” only to find out he was cheating again.’
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Berry, meanwhile, has been happy in a relationship with musician Van Hunt since 2020, after years of being single.
‘It was the first time I was madly in love before I had sex,’ she told People in 2024.
‘That has never happened to me, ever,’ said the star, who turns 60 in August. ‘Talk about one of those life-changing, beautiful experiences. It was magical, just magical.’
Berry and the Seconds of Pleasure hitmaker have been together for six years, and an insider recently revealed the star had never planned to get married again until her current love proposed.
A source then told the outlet: ‘After Van proposed, Halle needed a few months to get comfortable with the idea of getting married again.
Berry, meanwhile, has been happy in a relationship with musician Van Hunt since 2020, after years of being single; pictured in March 2023 in Los Angeles
‘It was the first time I was madly in love before I had sex,’ she told People in 2024. ‘That has never happened to me, ever. Talk about one of those life-changing, beautiful experiences. It was magical, just magical; pictured in May 2025 in Cannes, France
‘She loves him so much, though, and he makes her incredibly happy. She feels very fortunate. She’s excited to be engaged.’
The loved-up couple are now planning to have ‘a small, meaningful wedding with their closest friends and family,’ but they have not yet set a date for their nuptials.
Meanwhile, Berry previously revealed how James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan helped restore her ‘faith in men’ when they worked together on 2002’s Die Another Day.
‘He will always be my Bond, always,’ she told Wired last year. ‘I’m a Pierce Brosnan fan. He restored my faith in men on that movie. There couldn’t be a human who is more of a gentleman than Pierce Brosnan.’
