“Well…IT’S OFFICIAL!” April fool’s day seemed to come earlier for Halle Berry as she took to Instagram showcasing a set of tropical photos to kick off the New Year on Saturday before hopping in again to explain her joke on Sunday.
The Oscar winner and her boyfriend; Van Hunt stirred rumors about their potential marriage over New Year’s weekend after Berry posted a photo of the duo where they can be seen kissing in a chapel during their tropical vacation.
“Well…IT’S OFFICIAL!” The 55-year-old actress captioned her post. The second slide in the post showed her and musician boyfriend Hunt posturing for a selfie with “It’s 2022!” written over it. While Berry speciously just intended to announce that it’s officially 2022, most fans and followers took it as an announcement of her wedding with Hunt.
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The surprised commenters include stars like Octavia Spencer, Naomi Campbell, Taraji P. Henson, and Dwayne Johnson, who all left heartfelt comments congratulating Berry on what would be her fourth marriage. The mother of two has previously been officially married to famous baseball star David Justice, singer Eric Benét and actor Olivier Martinez.
“Congrats you two!!! Beautiful!!” Johnson commented while Thandiwe Newton showed her excitement by commenting that she was crying “tears of joy” after reading the news.
To an even bigger surprise, the announcement was a false alarm. Berry and Hunt, On Sunday, took to Instagram again to clear the rumors that their so-called wedding declaration was just a joke that missed the target badly.
“We were just having some New Year’s Day fun!” Berry stated. “People clearly don’t swipe as much as we thought they did. Thank you for the well wishes, tho’, it really touched our hearts! Now it’s OFFICIAL, the internet is no longer undefeated.”
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The Catwoman star coupled the post with the hashtags #NoMoreSwipes4Me and #JanuaryFoolsDay.
However, Berry’s initial post contained a few clues that show that the post was an intricate way to say goodbye to 2021. The original photos featured the since-removed hashtag “gotcha” and the phrase “It’s 2022!” on the second slide of the beaming couple, possibly meaning it was just meant for the New Year.
What did you think of the prank?
The poorly landed joke came a week after Berry and Hunt together celebrated Christmas. “Merry Christmas from our home to yours,” she captioned her cheerful picture.
It’s now clear that Berry and Hunt aren’t married officially, they are still very much in a lovey-dovey relationship. Appearing for a recent interview with Women’s Health, the actress vividly expressed her relationship with the Grammy winner, whom she has been dating since 2020.
“I wish I had met him sooner so I could have loved him longer,” she stated. “I just feel fulfilled. I feel happy in my life romantically, as a mother, as an artist. I’m a much better mother in this circumstance than I would have been had I stayed in a romantic relationship that didn’t serve me and didn’t make me feel the way I need to feel as a woman.”
Earlier in December 2021, the Oscar winner heaped praise for singer boyfriend at the 4th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television while taking her Career Achievement Award.
“You know I finally found love this year everybody. Even though you all have been on this painful journey with me,” Berry said on a lighter note. “You watched me fail and fail and fail. And besides directing my first movie, I also found the love of my life and I know it’s true and this is how I know it’s true.”
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“Because you fail so many you know what wrong looks like. Because I failed so many times I now know what [love] really looks like,” she added. “And so my partner is here tonight, Van, and you have supported me.”
Berry had been previously married to Olivier Martinez before the two separated in 2015. Prior to her relationship with Martinez, she tied knots with former MLB player David Justice and to singer-cum-actor Eric Benét. She has a daughter Nahla, 13, with her ex, Gabriel Aubry, and a son Maceo, 8, with Martinez.
