Unlucky in love for the longest time until she met her husband, Hayek now wishes she could tell her younger self to "chill out. You're going to get a great husband that's going to adore you."
Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 9, 2021. It has since been updated.
When Salma Hayek appears on the screen, it's hard to take our eyes off her. Her immense talent that shines through as she drawls her lines in her accent is one that we can't help but be in awe of. But as many fans as she may have, she's bound to have people who miss no opportunity to criticize her. In her case, more so about her marriage to her husband François-Henri Pinault, the chairman and CEO of Kering and president of Groupe Artémis.
Hayek, who focused on her career before a relationship, announced her relationship with Pinault in 2007 when she was 39 years old, according to Cheat Sheet. However, she refuses to reveal how they met. In an interview with Town&Country, she said, “I’m not going to tell you,” to the interviewer. “It’s such a romantic, amazing story, but it is mine. I don’t want to vulgarize it by making it into a story to make myself interesting.” The two got married on Valentine's Day in 2009 in Paris. And they share a sweet relationship, one that made the Oscar nominee glad she waited for him.
In an interview with Allure, Hayek said "I wish I knew [when I was younger] that I was going to fall crazy in love with the perfect man. I was so worried, and I dated some people I shouldn't have dated. You get desperate, and you start seeing wonderful things in, like, the wrong guys. I also found some pretty good guys. But I wish I could say to myself, 'Hey, chill out. You're going to get a great husband that's going to adore you.' I would have saved myself a lot of personal drama."
Soon, the couple brought their daughter, Valentina, now 12, into their world and they seem like the perfect family. However, some claims by her critics aren't sitting very well with the Frida actress. Hayek, 54, explained how her 58-year-old husband, who is worth billions, has made her a "much better person" on an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by actor and producer, Dax Shepard. "Can I say something about your husband, really quick? What a f—— nice, fun, generous, nice warm guy. He's super sexy too," he told the actress. He then added, "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't know who he was, I just heard or maybe read in a headline that you had married a really rich guy. Maybe that's why she married him."
To that, the From Dusk Till Dawn actress responded, "You know the thing is that in pictures you cannot begin to guess the magic in him. He's made me become a much better person, and grow in such a good, healthy way. And, you know, when I married him, everybody said, 'Oh, it's arranged marriage, she married him for the money.' I'm like, 'Yeah, whatever, b**ch. Think what you want.' Fifteen years together, and we are strong in love. And I don't even get offended, I'm like, 'Yeah, whatever,'" she said.
She continued saying, "We're touching on a very interesting conversation. There is a discrimination also to rich men. Immediately you think because somebody's rich, [they] might not be a good person, might be somebody materialistic, might be somebody that doesn't have values, might be somebody that is even stupid or that doesn't deserve it [or] that in order to have a lot of money, you did it the wrong way, there is all this preconceptions and I heard, by the way."
The Grown Ups actress also defended her husband saying, "My guy, finished work, no matter how hard it was — and trust me he has a lot of responsibilities — big smile on his face, happy to be home, happy to see me and the kids, make us laugh... We go on vacation, he completely shuts off, he's in the moment. It's not just an insult to me. I'm not the one being judged only. They cannot begin to imagine what a joy that human being is."
Well, it looks like Hayek knows just how amazing her life is, especially with her family and no one is going to force her to believe otherwise.
References:
https://www.allure.com/gallery/salma-hayek-interview
https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/salma-hayek
https://people.com/movies/salma-hayek-slams-suggestion-she-married-husband-for-his-money/
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris
