Terence Howard emerged successful in his court battle against ex-wife Michelle Ghent regarding their divorce settlement; however, it took the "Empire" star's dark secrets to be publicly disclosed amid the said trial.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Trent Lewis resorted into snooping inside the actor's private life in order to determine whether the alleged blackmailing from his second wife was done for the purpose of fraudulently extorting more money from the actor's assets, Norfolk Daily News has reported.
According to The Denver Post, the four-day trial that ensued compelled Howard to be placed in the witness stand for three days where the actor admitted to cheating on Ghent during their engagement and that he had kept phone sex calls with several women over the years.
In the ruling in favor of Howard's plea for negotiations on the settlement, Judge Lewis gave huge consideration on the evidence of the prosecution which revealed a phone call made by Ghent to the actor's assistant threatening to expose his private information if she would not receive money by the end of that day. The actor's career might have plummeted in 2011 if he had not abode by Ghent's conditions.
In addition to this, the actor's ex has also blackmailed him into signing the divorce settlement by saying that she would leak a video of Howard dancing naked inside a bathroom while they were still married, Norfolk Daily News revealed.
The actor may have experienced severe humiliation with such disclosure of his private life, but on the brighter side, he was able to obtain the court decision he has been fighting for against Ghent. Accordingly, Michelle would not be be able to chase after his "Empire" earnings and they would have to discuss again the amount Ghent would be receiving from the actor as well as other matters surrounding the divorce settlement, as per Los Angeles Times.
Ghent has an ongoing restraining order against the actor who divorced her a year after they married in 2010.
