Terrence Howard's Nasty Divorce

By Maria Elena Fernandez

Terrence Howard, best known for his Oscar-nominated performance as a pimp with hip-hop aspirations in "Hustle & Flow," is experiencing a different sort of drama these days: His divorce from his wife of one year is shaping up as one to live in infamy as far as celebrity splits go. The Howards have accused each other of physical and verbal abuse, extortion, and threats of more bodily harm in court papers. Although many of their problems appear to have started soon after they were engaged in May 2009, that didn't stop them from getting married on Jan. 20, 2010.

According to court papers, the honeymoon lasted only a week. By Jan. 27, 2010, Michelle Ghent Howard discovered her husband had a secret second cellphone and a nasty fight ensued. In her court declaration, Michelle Ghent Howard says her new husband "slugged" her in the face and neck. But in his court account, Terrence Howard, 42, says it was his wife who struck him and called him racial slurs throughout their marriage.

Whatever happened, they stayed together another year, separated, reconciled even after she had filed for divorce in January 2011, and then separated again. In a nutshell, Michelle Ghent Howard says Terrence Howard calls, texts, emails, and Skypes her at all hours of the day and night, and threatens to do her physical harm. Terrence Howard, in turn, says she harasses him and has been threatening to ruin his career by releasing audio recordings he had made of conversations with other people in his life before he met her.

On Dec. 5, a judge granted Michelle Ghent Howard a restraining order based on her claims that Terrence Howard has caused her physical injuries that required medical attention, once broke her computer in half, repeatedly threatened her, and stalked her by telephone and on the Internet. But now, Terrence Howard will fight for his own restraining order against his wife for her "constant threats of extortion" and harassment, at a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 17.

Among the biggest revelations in the court file obtained by The Daily Beast are:

1) Michelle Ghent Howard, 35, said she did not know about Terrence Howard's domestic-violence history until after she had married him. The actor pleaded guilty to charges of disturbing the peace in 2002, after he was arrested for forcing entry into his first wife's home after they had a phone argument, chasing her into the backyard, and punching her twice in the face, according to police records in Pennsylvania.

Source: wonderwall.msn.com