Although many of Halle Berry’s closest celebrity friends were congratulating her and Van Hunt, there was plenty of confusion as to whether or not the post was a prank.
UPDATE (1/2 @ 3 p.m. EST): Halle returned to Instagram to confirm that she and Van are not married. “We were just having some New Year’s Day fun! People clearly don’t swipe as much as we thought they did,” she said in her caption, alongside a cute selfie of the pair. “thank you for the well wishes, tho’, it really touched our hearts! Now it’s OFFICIAL, the internet is no longer undefeated,” she added.
ORIGINAL STORY:Halle Berry, 55, seemed to tease she could have gotten married for a fourth time! The Bruised actress posted a cryptic post with boyfriend, Van Hunt, 51, on Jan. 1 as they shared a romantic kiss in an altar like setting. “well…IT’S OFFICIAL!” she captioned the post, possibly confirming that she and Van tied the knot. The setting for the potential nuptials couldn’t be any more idyllic: a window behind the two showed the turquoise blue water at the tropical destination they’ve been spending their Christmas vacation at.
In the next image, the two snuggled up for a sweet selfie with the text written, “it’s 2022” over — perhaps suggesting that it’s officially a new year (and that they did not get married). HollywoodLife has reached out to reps for Halle about the potential marriage news — but if they are indeed wed, congratulations are in order.
The Oscar winner appeared to embrace some of the island’s customs with a flower crown paired with a sheer black dress with spaghetti straps for the moment. Van was also casual in a short sleeve chambray button down and shorts. Both Halle and Van were barefoot for the photo as they stood solo in the room, which contained empty wooden pews (likely used for wedding ceremonies at the resort). Curiously, a priest or Justice of the Peace did not appear in any of the photos.
Amid the confusion, thousands of her 7.4 million fans took to the comments to congratulate the rē•spin founder and the Popular singer — including some other famous A-Listers. “Congrats!!! So happy for you,” Taraji P. Henson wrote, while supermodel Naomi Campell added, “Congratulations @halleberry blessings to your beautiful Union.” Wanda Sykes, Roland Martin, Debra Messing, Niecy Nash, Tamar Braxton, The Rock, and Octavia Spencer also posted sweet messages of support. Others begged for answers in the comments, wondering if the post was a prank and a tongue-in-cheek way to celebrate 2022.
If she is married, this would mark her fourth time down the aisle: Halle was initially wed to MLB star David Justice from 1993-1997, then to Eric Benet from 2001 – 2005. She notably had a longterm relationship with model Gabriel Aubrey from 2005 – 2010, who she shares daughter Nahla, now 13, with. Halle married for the third time to French actor Olivier Martinez in 2013, having son Maceo Robert, now 8, that same year — however, the couple called it quits by 2016.
Halle went public with her latest romance via Instagram back in 2020. The couple were initially low key, however, he has attended several major red carpet events with Halle in 2021, including the Oscars, the opening of the Academy museum and her recent Bruised premiere.