Salma Hayek Pushes Back at Allegations She Married Billionaire Husband for Money

In a recently released podcast, Salma Hayek pushed back at allegations that she married her husband, French businessman François-Henri Pinault, for money.

Salma Hayek and François Henri Pinault
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Image via Getty/Jerod Harris/Stringer

Salma Hayek and François Henri Pinault

Salma Hayek is pushing back against allegations that she married her husband, the billionaire François-Henri Pinault, for money. Also let us note that, even though celebrity net worth sites are often garbage (apply that to the previous sentence too) Hayek is valued at $200 million.

Speaking on Monday on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Hayek said accusations that her marriage being for cash are BS. For context, the power couple has been married since February 2009, they’re the parents of a 13-year-old daughter (Valentina), and Pinault is the CEO of Kering, a luxury fashion group that oversees Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Gucci. Shepard also said that, when he had met Pinault, he was in the group of people wondering if the marriage was superficial. 

“I was like, oh, OK, she married a rich guy, maybe that’s why she married him, I don’t know,” Shepard said, according to Yahoo!. “I meet him and I’m like, this guy is so foxy — oh my God, the confidence, his eyes, he’s so good-looking and charming and I was like, oh, this motherfucker could’ve been broke. He’s a bombshell.”

Shepard added to that by saying “What a fucking nice, fun, generous, kind, warm guy — but beyond that, he’s super-sexy too.”

That’s when Hayek chipped in to agree with Shepard’s opinion that her husband is sexy. 

“You know the thing is that in pictures you cannot begin to guess the magic in him,” she said. “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 an arranged marriage, she married him for the money. I’m like, ‘yeah, whatever, bitch.’ Think what you want: 15 years together, and we are strong in love.”

She also said that such conjecture offends her. 

“I’m like, ‘yeah, whatever,’” she said. She also offered the opinion that speculation about the relationship is sexist on account of her also being successful and having lots of money. 

She said she previously had misconceptions about how rich people behave.

“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 said.

She adds that he’s not “controlling” or a “workaholic” whose only concern is money. 

“My guy finishes work, no matter how hard it was — and trust me he has a lot of responsibilities — [with a] big smile on his face, happy to be home, happy to see me and the kids, make us laugh,” she said.

“When we go on vacation he completely shuts off, he’s in the moment. And so it’s not just an insult to me — I’m not the one being judged only. ‘Oh, she’s an actor, she’s going for the money.’ They cannot begin to imagine what a joy that human being is.”

Hayek also talked about her love scene in Desperado, specifically how miserable it was filming that. You can read about that part of the interview here, or listen to the entire podcast here.

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