Salma Hayek is shooting down speculation about her marriage to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault. The Desperado actress, 54, opened up about her relationship on the new episode of Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast, hitting back at people who theorized she only married the Kering CEO, 58, for his fortune.
“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,” Hayek gushed of her husband, whom she married in 2007 and welcomed 13-year-old daughter Valentina. “And you know when I married him, everybody said, ‘Oh, it’s an arranged marriage, she married him for the money. I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever, b—.’ Think what you want: 15 years together, and we are strong in love.”
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While Hayek said she understands money can be a draw in a relationship, there are plenty of misconceptions about being with a wealthy person. “Immediately you think because somebody’s rich, [they] might not be a good person,” she told Shepard. “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. In order to have a lot of money, you did it the wrong way; there is all this preconception.”
Even she felt that way upon first meeting, Pinault. “It was the last thing I wanted — it was not my type at all. And I came in with the preconceptions and he [melted] them all away,” she explained. The star added of her favorite things about her husband, “My guy finishes 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.”
Hearing the things people say about her relationship is not just insulting to her but to Pinault. “I’m not the one being judged only. ‘Oh, she’s an actor, she’s going for the money,’” she added. “They cannot begin to imagine what a joy that human being is.” Hayek shared a Valentine’s Day message to her hubby on Sunday, kissing him on the cheek as he embraces her from behind in a sweet picture she shared to Instagram. “#happyvalentinesday,” she captioned the photo.
