Thursday August 9, 2007
Terrence Howard at Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List Party in New York.
John Spellman / Retna Ltd.
Oscar-winning actor Terrence Howard can next be seen alongside Jodie Foster in The Brave One, which comes out later this month, but it’s his love life that’s been getting the most publicity lately.
He married in 1989, had three children, and divorced in 2003. In 2005, he remarried his ex-wife who has since filed for divorce again. He was also recently linked with Naomi Campbell.
In the September issue of Elle magazine, the Hustle & Flow star, 38, reveals why he finally let his wife go, why he decided to go celibate, and why his relationships live and die on the issue of baby wipes.
Interview excerpts below…
ELLE: What does your ideal woman look like?
TH: I like women who look like me. Generally, you're attracted to women who look like you, because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection.
ELLE: So…you like a lady with a pencil moustache?
TH: No, but a woman who shares my features.
ELLE: You also once described your dad and uncle as "pimps" who taught you how to communicate with women. What did they tell you?
TH: They were just pimps in the figurative sense, in that they were both very worldly with women. They taught me that in every relationship, the person least interested in maintaining it is going to dominate it, because they'll never compromise. So you have to always maintain that position of least interest, and you'll always control the relationship.
ELLE: Why have most of your relationships ended?
TH: My unwillingness to commit. I was always trying to convince myself that I was with the right person when I wasn't. And sex ends up masking your real feelings because you're able to get some satisfaction, when what you really need is a lifetime partner and friend. If a relationship is built on sexuality, it won't last long.
ELLE: So do you have a new approach to make sure this doesn't happen?
TH: Now I'm completely chaste through a relationship unless I get married. I don't believe in premarital sex. It enabled me to date three or four women at the same time, because as long as I wasn't having sex with them, I could always just walk away.
ELLE: What one item could you find in a woman's house that would prove that you weren't compatible?
TH: Toilet paper—and no baby wipes—in her bathroom.
ELLE: Wait. I don't think I understand.
TH: If they're using dry paper, they aren't washing all of themselves. It's just unclean. So if I go inside a woman's house and see the toilet paper there, I'll explain this. And if she doesn't make the adjustment to baby wipes, I'll know she's not completely clean.
ELLE: What's the angriest you've ever seen a woman?
TH: When you see a woman go in the kitchen and get a knife, that's pretty angry.
ELLE: You think she was prepared to use it?
TH: I didn't stick around long enough to find out.
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Posted by Noelle Hancock at 4:29 pm ET
