Eva Longoria opens up about husband number three, becoming a stepmum and being best mates with Victoria Beckham
After two divorces, Eva wasn’t keen on another trip down the aisle – but now, she’s more loved-up than ever
EVA Longoria is a rare breed of Hollywood star.
Who else would walk into a Fabulous shoot carrying two huge boxes of Pizza Express’ doughy goodness?
Especially when, very shortly, she will be squeezing herself into a selection of tiny body suits.
Though we are all a bit horrified when Eva takes one look at her wardrobe and exclaims: “Are you f**king kidding? I’ve just eaten pizza!”
But (fortunately) this is an American who gets sarcasm down to a tee.
And the Desperate Housewives star is in fact perfectly happy to eat junk food right before posing for photos wearing very little.
Moments later, she confirms this by picking up another gigantic slice (pepperoni and mushroom thin crust, FYI) and announcing: “Oh well, I’ve f**ked it up now – this is my fifth slice!”
Meanwhile, her healthy lunch of steamed white fish and veg – carefully arranged in advance by her publicist – is ignored.
She cements her status as our new fave A-lister even further by confessing: “I was like: ‘This is the best pizza in the world. I’m going to Snapchat it and make you famous.’ Then I find out it’s a chain!”
Warm, down-to-earth and seriously funny, Eva is the kind of girl you want to have as your bestie.
So it’s little wonder that Victoria Beckham adopted Eva, 41, as just that when she and David moved to LA in 2007 – more of which later.
And recently, another very special person has entered Eva’s life in the form of new husband José Bastón, 48, who goes by the nickname Pepe. It’s clear Eva is still in serious honeymoon mode after the couple’s May wedding.
“[Married life] is better than I could ever have imagined it to be,” Eva says.
“I don’t think I could love another human as much as I love Pepe. I’m obsessed. I talk about him a hundred times a day! He’s the best.”
However, when she met Mexican-born Pepe – the president of television at Latin America’s largest media company Televisa – three years ago, marriage could not have been further from her mind.
And with two failed marriages behind her, it’s not hard to understand why.
Eva married US soap actor Tyler Christopher, 43, in 2002, but the marriage fell apart after two years, and she later blamed their young age. Then in 2007, she tied the knot with basketball player Tony Parker, 34, only to discover messages from another woman on his phone.
Although he denied an affair, the heartbroken actress filed for divorce in 2011, later revealing she was so traumatised that she temporarily stopped eating.
This time, she is sure it’s forever, despite the fact neither she nor Pepe – who was previously married to actress Natalia Esperón – were keen to put a ring on it.
“I never wanted to get married again and neither did Pepe,” she shrugs.
“We were totally happy and didn’t want that to change if we got married. I was just like: ‘Meh.’ I was married twice and it wasn’t a goal. Before,
it was always the fairy-tale aspiration: ‘I’m going to get married and have kids,’ blah, blah, blah. Then I realised I didn’t need it because of where I was in my life.”
The couple were introduced by mutual friends in 2013, but initially there was no spark.
Six months later, they met again and it was a very different story.
They started dating and despite their earlier feelings about marriage, Pepe popped the question last December during a romantic trip to Dubai.
“He asked me and five months later we were married,” Eva says.
“It was so fast and amazing but also so right.”
Today, she admits she’s struggling with having to spend time apart from her new husband.
He’s just flown back to their Hollywood Hills home after spending the last week with her in Cardiff, where she’s been based filming BBC2 drama Decline & Fall with Jack Whitehall.
“[When we got married] we became inseparable,” Eva says.
“Pepe is so kind. That’s rare to find.”
Their relatively low-key nuptials took place at the couple’s home in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, in front of 200 guests including Melanie Griffith, Ricky Martin and, of course, the Beckhams.
Eva lights up when talking about her wedding.
Just 24 hours before it, the couple had an intimate civil ceremony with Victoria acting as a witness.
It wasn’t the only important role for the former Spice Girl on Eva’s big day – she was also responsible for designing the bridal gown.
No pressure!
“My dress was so perfect,” says Eva.
“I told Victoria that I wanted her to design it, and she was so happy. But she was also like: 'I don’t do wedding dresses!' I said that I didn’t want a wedding dress – I wanted a dress that said beauty, sophistication, elegance and timelessness. That’s what her brand is about. There was nothing I’d rather have worn.”
In the end, Eva was spoilt for choice, ending up with no less than three couture VB dresses.
“At the civil ceremony, my dress was one I’d had in my closet, which Victoria had given me a long time ago and I’d never worn,” she says.
“Then she made my wedding dress and one for the after-party. I really loved my after-party dress, as it was so comfortable, and Pepe did too. I almost wore it for the wedding, but it was a little booby and I thought the priest would get distracted!”
Eva’s famous trademark cackle appears as she describes the dressmaking process.
“Victoria was very sweet about every aspect at our fittings,” she says.
“She went into her studio and pulled everything out that she’s ever made – every dress, strap, hem, piece of material and white item. She doesn’t do beading, but was like: ‘I’ll do beading!’
“She wanted me to be happy, and I was the happiest woman in the world on my wedding day.”
Victoria was even determined to bring the party spirit.
“It was Victoria who got me to drink tequila at my wedding,” says Eva. “I ended up on the table! We had such a laugh.”
Laughter appears to be a key component of their friendship.
“We’re hilarious. She’s so funny and we laugh at everything,” she says.
“When I was in London recently, we had dinner and laughed so hard that everyone kept staring at us because we were so loud!
“She’s the most solid human being you could ever meet. She’s super-loyal, dependable and you can call her up any time. We’re always talking about life and balancing it. It’s good to have somebody you can bounce ideas or concerns off. Everybody needs those girl friends in their life.”
So does Eva look at Victoria and David’s 17-year marriage for inspiration?
“They’ve been married for like 112 years!” she laughs.
“They get that life’s a long journey and want to do it together. You have to applaud it.”
The Beckhams have a brood of four and even made Eva godmother to their five-year-old daughter Harper.
“Harper is a beautiful little girl who rules the house. As she should!” Eva says.
“Victoria finally has an ally.”
And Eva has now taken on a mothering role of her own – that of stepmum to Pepe’s three children from his first marriage: daughter Natalia, 21, and Mariana and José, both 13 (born triplets, their brother Sebastian died days after their birth).
Instead of having bridesmaids on her big day, Eva chose to have Natalia and Mariana walk down the aisle in front of her and Pepe.
The actress can’t hide her delight when she talks about her stepchildren.
“I’ve got three little gifts. Our eldest is a dream daughter. She’s a bright, beautiful lady and so polite and educated. The twins have completely different personalities, but are equally delicious.”
But being an A-lister doesn’t mean you escape the nerves of joining a blended family.
“The stakes are higher when kids are involved,” Eva explains.
“We were so cautious until we knew it was something serious. When I met the children, I knew it was a big deal. They love and respect him so much, which is a beautiful thing.”
RELATED STORIES
But she is more cautious when the subject of having her own children comes up.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs.
“When the time comes, we’ll see. It’s not off the table, it’s not on the table. It’s just not an issue right now.”
But family does play a massive part in Eva’s life.
Born in Texas to Mexican-American parents Ella and Enrique, she was raised on a ranch and grew up in a poor household with sisters Esmerelda, Elizabeth and Emily.
Eva credits Elizabeth, 47, who was born with a mental disability, as being her inspiration.
She makes the most of her privilege and gives back through her charity The Eva Longoria Foundation, which helps Latinos build a better future.
“We benefited so much growing up from charities and community programmes,” she says softly.
“I wanted to give that back to other families.”
In the flesh, it’s not hard to understand why Eva has constantly topped the world’s sexiest polls.
Despite being a UK size 2 (and a miniscule 5ft 2in), she has curves in all the right places and credits daily SoulCycle classes and running for her trim physique.
Her flawless skin is almost wrinkle-free, meaning she looks half her age. But growing up, Eva insists she always saw herself as the ugly duckling.
“I was the black sheep of the family!” she exclaims. “I remember wanting to enter my first beauty pageant and my mum was just like: ‘Oh, honey, you’re not going to win so let’s not enter.’ So every time a [world’s sexiest] poll came out I would send it to my sisters. They’d joke that the people behind the polls had made a mistake!”
In 1998, aged 23, Eva was crowned Miss Corpus Christi, which led to her getting spotted and signed to a talent scout.
She was then cast in several minor roles, including in Beverly Hills 90210, before being propelled to stardom in 2004 as sexy Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives.
A year before the show ended in 2012, Eva was named as the highest-paid actress on TV, reportedly earning £250,000 an episode.
Unlike many actresses, Eva positively embraces being defined by her looks.
“Somebody told me not to get pigeonholed into ‘sexy’. I was like: ‘I’m sexy? I’m riding that wave to the beach!’ I hope they consider me sexy for a while!”
Despite this, Eva prefers to scrimp rather than splurge on cosmetics and counts her must-have items as mascara, serum and her own L’Oréal nude lippy.
As yet, she hasn’t considered cosmetic surgery – but that’s not to say she wouldn’t.
“Ageing is the one thing that’s inevitable, so embrace it,” she says.
“I associate ageing with growth, travel, life experiences and wisdom. Do I like the new wrinkles? No, but they don’t define me.”
She puts down her mug of tea, slips back into her cosy puffa jacket and gives everyone a parting hug.
Her giant diamond and ruby engagement ring catches the light as she waves goodbye with a massive grin.
The combo of new hubby and her no-counting-wrinkles attitude means she’s having a very good time indeed.
Eva’s clothing line The Eva Longoria Collection is sold at . Decline & Fall is on BBC2 later this year.