Actress Halle Berry and husband, singer Eric Benet, separate

Jet, Oct 20, 2003

Oscar-winner Halle Berry announced flint she has separated from her husband, R&B singer Eric Benet, after less than three years of marriage.

"Eric and I have had marital problems for some time now and have tried to work things out together," Berry said in a statement. "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."

Berry and Benet met in 1999 at a party to celebrate the premiere of Berry's HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, about the first Black woman nominated for a Best Actress Oscar with 1954's Carmen Jones.

This is Berry's second marriage. She divorced Cleveland Indian out-fielder David Justice in 1996. Benet has a daughter from a previous union with a girlfriend who was killed in a car accident 15 months after she was born.