Salma Hayek reveals shocking secret behind her surprise wedding
On September 2, 2024, Salma Hayek will celebrate her 58th birthday. Since 2009, the actress has been married to François-Henri Pinault, who brought her to the altar through a surprising twist. "I didn't even know I was getting married that day," revealed Hayek.
Salma Hayek is one of the most popular Hollywood actresses, known for movies like "Desperado", "Frida", and "Magic Mike: Last Dance". She has had a few high-profile relationships, earning her the nickname "runaway bride". When the men she was dating wanted to propose, the actress would break up with them.
Salma Hayek was afraid of marriage
In April 2006, Salma Hayek met her future husband, François-Henri Pinault, in Venice. He is the heir to one of the world's largest fortunes. The next day, they went out for dinner. It was love at first sight.
A year later, Pinault proposed to Hayek, who said "no." Nonetheless, she accepted a luxurious villa in Bel Air as a gift, and her suitor did everything to convince her to marry him. Finally, they married on Valentine's Day 2009, although the actress did not know about the ceremony. She didn't believe in the institution of marriage and didn't want to become a wife.
"I didn't even know I was getting married that day. It was like an intervention. I don’t think I ever told this story. No, they just took me to the court. My parents, my brother, they were all ganging up on me. I had a phobia of the marriage thing (...) I was nervous. And then, after, there was a lunch at his parents’ house. My mother-in-law, who’s the most tasteful person when it comes to entertaining, had already been doing the lunch. I had no choice," she shared in an interview with American "Glamour".
Hayek also admitted that if she had known about the wedding beforehand, "she would not have shown up for the ceremony." Today, however, she is happy with Pinault and satisfied with her marriage.
Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault - marriage
A few months after Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault's civil wedding, there was a formal wedding and reception. Everything took place at the La Fenice opera house in Venice, and among the guests were Penélope Cruz, Charlize Theron, and the actress's former partners, Antonio Banderas and Edward Norton. The wedding was held in a carnival style.
The couple's only daughter, Valentina, was born two years before the wedding. Salma Hayek's husband also has three children from his previous marriage to interior designer Dorothée Lepère.
