Los Angeles: Hollywood actress Halle Berry’s first husband, former Major League Baseball player David Justice, has revealed the unusual reasons behind their divorce, attributing their split partly to her refusal to conform to traditional domestic roles.

The couple married in 1993 but separated four years later. Speaking on Matt Barnes' All the Smoke podcast, Justice said, “My knowledge and my understanding, my wisdom around relationships just wasn't vast. 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, (be) traditional, you know? Then I'm thinking, 'OK, if we have kids, is this the woman I want to have kids with and build a family with?' 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 admitted that his immaturity and lack of experience played a role in the marriage’s demise, explaining that he had only been in one serious relationship before marrying Berry.

He also shared that Berry proposed to him after just five months of dating, and although he had doubts, he accepted, saying, “She asked me to marry her after knowing me for five months. I said OK, because I couldn't say no. Who's going to say no at that time? 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 (if) I was just in the moment.”

Justice added that the couple’s busy schedules, with Berry filming movies in various countries, meant they spent considerable time apart. He believes that their marriage might have survived if they had access to therapy. “We honestly probably could have made it if I knew about therapy. If we knew about therapy, we probably could have made it,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Justice insisted they never faced any major conflicts beyond their differing expectations and his youthful inexperience. IANS