Halle Berry reveals despair after marriage bust up

By Stone Martindale Mar 29, 2007, 18:37 GMT

03/27/2007 - Halle Berry - Perfect Stranger Photocall at the St. Regis Grand Hotel in Rome - St. Regis Grand Hotel - Rome, Italy © Insidefoto / Photorazzi

Actress Halle Berry has revealed to Parade magazine her despair and attempt to commit suicide over her failed first marriage to baseball player David Justice.

The 40-year-old beauty shared with Parade that she was so beaten down and sad at the break-up with Justice that she attempted to gas herself.

Berry credits her love and concern for her family, and pulled out at the last minute after thinking of her mother Judith.

"I was sitting in my car, and I knew the gas was coming when I had an image of my mother finding me," Berry told Parade magazine.

"She sacrificed so much for her children, and to end my life would be an incredibly selfish thing to do.

"It was all about a relationship. My sense of worth was so low. I had to reprogramme myself to see the good in me.

"Because someone didn't love me didn't mean I was unlovable. I promised myself I would never be a coward again."

Berry described her second marriage, to singer Eric Benet, as "really horrific". 

"We were in sex rehab after one year," the Oscar-winner Berry shared. "I wish I had left then, but I was putting everyone's needs before mine."

Berry now stars in the soon to be released "Perfect Stranger" with Bruce Willis. Halle Berry plays Rowena Price, a reporter who investigates into her friend Grace Clayton's death.

Directed by James Foley and written by Todd Komarnicki and Jon Bokenkamp, Perfect Stranger, is a spinechilling, sexy thriller that tries to keep all the secrets hidden, no matter how far one must go to protect the truth. 

"Perfect Strangers" is due in theaters April 13, 2007.