Berry Split from Benet Now Official

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday April 27, 2004 01:00 AM EDT

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Halle Berry has filed for divorce from her husband of three years, R&B singer Eric Benet, her spokeswoman has announced.

Publicist Karen Samfilippo confirmed the filing Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court but declined comment. There are reports that the split is amicable.

Last Oct. 1, the actress announced her separation from Benet, saying in a statement: "Eric and I have had marital problems for some time now and have tried to work things out together.

"However, at this point, I feel we need time apart to reevaluate our union. We ask that you respect our privacy as we are going through this emotional time," she added.

Berry, 37, was previously married to pro ballplayer David Justice, but the relationship ended in 1996. The instability in her relationship with Benet, also 37, has been well-documented, and at one point her husband was reportedly treated for a sex addiction.

Benet also has a young daughter, India, from a previous relationship with a girlfriend who was killed in a car crash 15 months after the girl was born.

Berry and Benet reportedly met in 1999 at a party to celebrate the premiere of Berry's HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, for which she went on to win a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

She then became the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, for her work in 2001's Monster's Ball.

Benet's debut album, True to Myself, was released in 1996. His hits include "Spend My Life With You" and "Love Don't Love Me."