Salma Hayek had planned a quiet and solitary future on her ranch, but life had something different in store for her. She didn’t expect to cross paths and fall in love with a man who already had children. Nor did she expect to have a daughter at the age of 41, but she’s now the proud mother of four and is part of a large, blended family.
Salma Hayek had given up hopes of finding her soulmate.
Sebastien Courdji / East News
As much as we plan ahead, we can never really know what our future will be like. Salma must have felt that way when she met François-Henri Pinault because she had no intention to fall in love, let alone get married:
“At the time I met him, I had already decided I didn’t want one of those [a husband]. I had set myself up for a completely different life. I was ready to live on my ranch, which is a sanctuary for animals. I would come to LA and work a little bit. I was not planning on spending. I had no interest in jewelry or clothes, or cars. I had everything I wanted,” shared the actress.
Yet, everything changed when she met François-Henri: “Then he came along, swept me off my feet, and changed my entire universe.” This was back in 2006, and even though she mistook him for a rich and vain man, it only took one casual conversation to realize that it was just prejudice on her part.
“I asked him if he had not been doing what he was doing, what would have been his dream? And he said an astronaut — and that was my dream! Then we started talking about different theories of physics, which is my secret passion. And soccer! I’m a huge soccer fan. [...] Nobody had talked to me about those things the first time I met [them]. It’s not normally the typical conversation. I realized, this person that [seems so different to me] is my perfect match.”
They broke up but realized their love deserved a second chance.
A year into their relationship, the couple decided to get engaged. However, in 2008, sometime after their daughter was born, it came out that François-Henri had had a child with another woman before starting his relationship with Salma. So they broke off the engagement and went their separate ways, given the unexpected news.
Although Salma was clearly shaken, she was happy to have her daughter by her side and decided to move on with her life. But, in 2009, Salma and François-Henri got back together and finally married in Venice, where they had met and fallen in love.
