Terrence Howard Secretly Ties the Knot

Wonderwall, Thursday, May 20, 2010, 11:59am (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

Terrence Howard has apparently found what he's always wanted in a soul mate: himself.

The actor, 41, who once proclaimed that he prefers "women who look like me ... because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection," has taken a wife.

His newly minted missus is commercial production worker Michelle Ghent-Howard, 33, reports Us.

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Terrence revealed his newly minted marital state during an interview with Anderson Cooper at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.

"To come here and be with my wife, it's the best feeling in the world," he gushed while promoting his role as Nelson Mandela in the forthcoming biopic, "Winnie," which stars Jennifer Hudson in the titular role.

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The newlyweds said "I do" during an intimate, under-the-radar Los Angeles ceremony in January, almost five years after Howard split from Lori McCommas, his on-again, off-again wife of 13 years and the mother of his three kids.

Last year, the former "Iron Man" star denied that he was engaged to actress Zulay Henao, and the romance reportedly fizzled out not long before he wed Ghent.

"Terrence is so in love with [Michelle]," says a source, "and she's a great, down-to-earth girl who really understands and loves him for him. He feels so lucky."

No word on whether the blushing bride carried a bouquet made not of flowers but baby wipes. You'll recall that Howard once told Elle magazine that his relationship deal breaker is a woman who has "toilet paper -- and no baby wipes -- in the bathroom."

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His rationale: "If they're using dry paper, they aren't washing all of themselves. It's just unclean. So if I go in 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."

Mazel tov to the happy couple!