Strange Things About Terrence Howard And Mira Pak

Terrence Howard hasn't had it easy. His childhood, which was filled with bullying and violence, reads like a tragedy. But even as he began making a name for himself in Hollywood, landing a lead role in "Hustle & Flow" (which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor), and solidifying himself as a star with "Empire," the actor couldn't shake off the drama. 

Howard's shady side has often eclipsed his successes. Over the years, the actor has made headlines for everything from his narcissistic and sexist comments to a slew of assault and domestic violence accusations brought forth by his various partners. These days, his career appears to be slowing down (since the end of "Empire," he's only had one role in 2020's "Cut Throat City"), but his personal life is perhaps more stable than ever — although it's no less bizarre than we've come to expect. Here are the seriously strange things about Terrence Howard and Mira Pak's relationship, which began nearly a decade ago.

Timing is everything — unless you're Terrence Howard. The "Empire" star picked a truly bizarre moment to approach an unsuspecting Mira Pak back in 2013 and introduce himself. What's more, he didn't offer up a simple "Hello," but rather decided to put it all on the line. As Pak shared with Rolling Stone, she was having lunch in a Los Angeles restaurant "in the middle of the day" with "an old boss" when Howard came up to their table and told her dining companion, "I don't know if she's your wife or girlfriend, but she's absolutely stunning." Luckily, Pak was amused and responded by pointing out, "That's very bold of you" to which Howard quipped back, "Well, only a tiger can approach a tiger."

Turns out, he was right. Although the restaurateur and model told the outlet their first encounter was "crazy," they soon went on a date and a serious relationship followed. As the "Hustle & Flow" actor told People in 2017, despite their unusual encounter, Pak was just the person he needed. After dealing with a lifetime of emotional baggage, "Mira settled me," he told the magazine, sharing, "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 after Terrence Howard came to terms with his past to focus on the future, he proposed to Mira Pak and they didn't waste any time saying "I do." While the exact date of their secret wedding is unknown, Radar pointed out that the pair walked the November 5, 2013 red carpet at the L.A. premiere of "The Best Man Holiday" wearing wedding bands. An insider noted that the lightning-fast marriage was "not out of character" for Howard, calling it just "another one" of the actor's "outlandish moves." It wasn't until 2015 that Daily News was finally able to confirm that the couple had tied the knot after just three weeks of dating in October 2013 in a ceremony that took place in Canada.

Gushing about why their union works, Howard told Rolling Stone in 2015 that "when you meet your one, it's completely balanced." Underscoring the fact that "I don't have any greater authority than she does," he claimed to be "broke" because "all my checks from Fox are being held for garnishment, because of my ex" and revealed that Pak was supporting them. "My wife, she did well for herself, so she's covered us," he shared, adding, "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." Howard also told People in 2017 that their marriage is "effortless," claiming, "Relationships are hard work, but we really don't fight."

Despite telling Rolling Stone that they have "an amazing connection," Mira Pak also shared some not-so-stellar comments about her husband, Terrence Howard. Noting that "he's not perfect," she told the mag that he "doesn't do the dishes. Doesn't cook. Doesn't lift a finger. I probably leave him 30 times a month," she laughed, then added, "He's so selfish." Pak went on to concede that much of Howard's behavior likely stems from the fact that "he didn't have much of a childhood" and that "it was difficult for him being picked on and bullied all the time," but still highlighted the fact that they "don't have a normal life. In our two years together, I've only gone to restaurants with him two or three times," she said, adding, "We've never been to the supermarket together. We've never been to the movies. I've never gotten a gift from him. Never, never," she concluded.

Perhaps most shocking, however, was Pak's claim that she "developed a slight form of agoraphobia" because "I never go out. I have no friends here. I feel like Rapunzel, you know, stuck in a penthouse with my baby," she said. Explaining why that is, Pak pointed to the DIY sculptures that fill their home, which the actor creates to prove his various mathematical theories. "Every minute that he has free, it's to do this," she explained and it's become a family activity. "I help him, cutting, drawing and putting things together," she said.

Before Terrence Howard became an actor, he was studying chemical engineering at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Then, one day, he became certain that one times one does not equal one, an argument with a professor followed and Howard eventually dropped out.

"How can it equal one?" he asked Rolling Stone. Explaining his reasoning, he said, "If one times one equals one, that means that two is of no value because one times itself has no effect. One times one equals two because the square root of four is two, so what's the square root of two? Should be one, but we're told it's two, and that cannot be." Enthusing that "this is the last century that our children will ever have been taught that one times one is one," Howard told the outlet that he was working towards proving "the true universal math" through his DIY sculptures. "I have created the pieces that make up the motion of the universe," he boasted and revealed that Mira Pak is heavily involved in his passion project. "We work on them about 17 hours a day," he said, sharing, "She cuts and puts on the crystals. I do the main work of soldering them together. They tell the truth from within."

But that's not all. Howard is so serious about his discovery that has been writing down the proof for the theory in an invented language called Terryology, which incorporates made-up symbols and words written both backwards and forwards.

Terrence Howard has a history of volatile relationships. In September 2001, he was arrested for assaulting his estranged wife, Lori McCommas, and allegedly admitted to cops, per The Smoking Gun, that he "broke the door down and hit my wife." He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Jump to 2013 and his second ex-wife, Michelle Ghent, petitioned for a restraining order against Howard, per TMZ. She alleged that her ex hit her during a trip to Costa Rica, but this time, Howard denied all allegations. As he told Rolling Stone, his side of the story was very different. "She was trying to Mace me," he recalled, explaining, "You can't see anything so all you can do is try to bat somebody away ... I wasn't trying to hit her." Years of courtroom drama ensued and, 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 owning a "blackmail CD" he could use against Ghent in court and why he and Pak gladly shared its contents with the outlet. According to Rolling Stone, the actor asked Pak, "Hey, honey, where's the blackmail CD?" mid-interview. He then played the 13-minute recording of a phone call in which Ghent called him "a f****** sociopath" and threatened to sell tapes of him having phone sex to tabloids if he didn't pay her the $1.3 million.

Despite appearing happily married and welcoming their first child together, son Qirin Love, in June 2015, New York Daily News learned in August 2015 that Terrence Howard and Mira Pak had secretly called it quits. According to court documents, Pak filed for divorce in March 2015, citing irreconcilable differences, and claimed that she and Howard had actually split up back in August 2014. But they weren't just keeping their divorce under wraps, they were acting as if they had never parted ways. In fact, no one would have known of the divorce at all had it not been for a court proceeding between Howard and his ex, Michelle Ghent, in which Ghent's lawyer referred to Pak as Howard's "ex-wife."

Following the birth of Qirin Love, the Empire star gushed to Access Hollywood (via Us Weekly), "He's beautiful and strong and a whirlwind and my wife is so happy." Making things more confusing, he said, "I pull night duty, so that she can sleep." Jump to September 2015 and the couple attended the Emmys together, per E!, then, in October, Howard celebrated their anniversary with a sweet post on Twitter in which he called Pak "My Life's Love!" The pair only continued to get closer and, in September 2018, when Us Weekly asked Howard how he balances acting with dating, he responded, "I come home to my wife." As one insider told the mag, it seems divorce brought the pair together. "They're tighter than ever," the source claimed.

Divorce usually symbolizes the end of a relationship, but that just wasn't the case for Terrence Howard and Mira 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, per E!, and in August 2016, they welcomed their second child together, son Hero. Howard broke the joyous news on Twitter by sharing a photo of "Hero being held by Qirin" which he paired with a heart emoji.

Their bond kept strengthening and, in December 2018, Howard asked Pak to marry him... again! The actor popped the question during a dinner with family and friends at Crustacean Beverly Hills, then shared images of the happy occasion on Instagram with the hashtag "#bloodisthickerthanwaterbutloveisthegluethatbindsus." The "Empire" actor also posted a video of his toast to Pak in which he proclaimed, "We have an idea of how long we think life is, but we do know how short it can be. 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," he gushed, adding, "I pray that everybody finds that one that will complete them for all eternity because it means everything. 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.