Actor Terrence Howard's shady side has often eclipsed his industry successes.
He's made headlines for everything from narcissistic comments to assault accusations.
But these days, his personal life seems more stable than ever — although it's no less
bizarre than we've come to expect. Here's what's strange about Howard and Mira Pak's relationship.
Timing is everything — unless you're Terrence Howard. The "Empire" star picked a truly
bizarre moment to approach Mira Pak back in 2013. As Pak shared with Rolling Stone,
she was having lunch in L.A. when Howard came up to her table and told her friend,
"I don't know if she's your wife or girlfriend, but she's absolutely stunning."
Luckily, Pak was amused. They soon went on a date and a serious relationship followed. As the
actor told People in 2017, despite their unusual encounter, Pak was just the gal for him. He said,
"Mira settled me. Two weeks after meeting Mira, I gathered up things associated with my past and
found a nice hill and buried them all there." Just a week later, Howard proposed to Pak and
they didn't waste any time saying "I do." While the exact date of their secret wedding is unknown,
Radar Online pointed out that the pair walked the red carpet at the November 2013 L.A. premiere of
"The Best Man Holiday" wearing wedding bands. It wasn't until 2015 that the Daily News was finally
able to confirm that the couple had tied the knot after just three weeks of dating, in October 2013.
Explaining why their union works, Howard told Rolling Stone that his
wife was supporting them financially while he dealt with his ex, adding,
"When you meet your one, it's completely balanced. […] It's always been a hard road
for me. I run into bad luck. But I run into good luck too. […] I've got a good wife."
Despite telling Rolling Stone that they were meant to be,
Pak also shared some not-so-stellar details about her husband. She said,
"[He] doesn't do the dishes. Doesn't cook. Doesn't lift a finger.
I probably leave him 30 times a month. He's so selfish."
While Pak blamed much of this dysfunction on Howard's lack of a healthy childhood,
she also claimed,
"[We] don't have a normal life. In our two years together, I've only
gone to restaurants with him two or three times. We've never been to the supermarket
together. We've never been to the movies. I've never gotten a gift from him. Never."
But perhaps most shocking was Pak's claim that she had begun to feel extreme
anxiety in public, thanks to the ultra private life they led. She said,
"I never go out. I have no friends here. I feel like Rapunzel,
you know, stuck in a penthouse with my baby." Howard has a history of volatile relationships. In
2001, he was arrested for assaulting his estranged wife, Lori McCommas, per The Smoking Gun. Jump
to 2013 and his second ex-wife, Michelle Ghent, petitioned for a restraining order against Howard,
according to TMZ. Howard denied the allegations and years of courtroom drama ensued.
According to The Blast, the exes were still duking it out in court in 2020
over a disputed $1.3 million settlement Ghent expected to receive. That may explain why Howard
boasted to Rolling Stone about a so-called "blackmail CD" he could use against Ghent
in court and why he and Pak shared it with the outlet. It was a 13-minute recording of a phone
call in which Ghent called Howard a, quote, "f---ing sociopath" and threatened to sell
tapes of him performing explicit acts on the phone if he didn't pay her the $1.3 million.
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse,
please call or chat online with the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Despite appearing happily married and welcoming their first child together, son Qirin, in June
2015, the New York Daily News learned in August of that year that Howard and Pak had secretly
called it quits. But they weren't just keeping their divorce under wraps, they were acting as
if they had never parted ways. Following the birth of their son, the star gushed to Access Hollywood,
"He's beautiful and strong and a whirlwind and my wife
is so happy. […] I pull night duty, so that she can sleep."
Two months later, the couple attended the Emmys together, and in October, Howard celebrated their
anniversary on Twitter. The pair seemingly only continued to get closer and, in 2018,
when Us Weekly asked Howard how he balances acting with dating, he responded,
"I come home to my wife." Divorce usually symbolizes the
end of a relationship, but that just wasn't the case for Howard and Pak. In May 2016,
the couple took fans by surprise when they showed up on an "Empire" red carpet with Pak cradling
a big baby bump. In August that year, they welcomed their second child together, son Hero.
By December 2018, Howard asked Pak to marry
him... again! The actor posted a video of his toast to Pak in which he proclaimed,
"It took me 45 years to find you. […] But now that I have you in my 50th year,
I will spend the rest of eternity at your side. […] I love you."
As TMZ noted, Howard previously married Lori McCommas twice,
first in 1989, then again in 2005 after their initial divorce in 2003. The couple called
it quits for good in 2007. Still, despite the rocky past, we wish Howard and Pak all the best.
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