Salma Hayek Marries Ex-Fiancé
Actress & New Hubby Francois-Henri Pinault Have 16-month-old Girl
Feb 17, 2009
Salma Hayek seems to have had one of the most romantic Valentine’s Days on the planet as she married her ex-fiancé, the French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault on that day.
Hayek's Valentine
The actress (Ugly Betty, Frida, Desperado, Traffic) – has a 16-month-old daughter, Valentina Paloma, with Pinault. The pair reportedly tied the knot in France over the weekend.
On Again, Off Again, On Again
Monday's online edition of the weekly French newsmagazine Le Point reported that Hayek, 42, and Pinault, 46, were married in the City Hall of the 6th Arrondissement in central Paris. The couple called off their engagement in July 2008 reportedly decided to give their romance a second try by taking two romantic breaks to the French capital late last year.
Friends of the couple told People magazine that a Paris trip in September (when Hayek attended the Balenciaga fashion show) and another in November helped rekindle the couple's relationship.
"Very Affectionate"
In addition, last December, Salma and Francois-Henri sparked reunion rumours after they were seen being "very affectionate" at the Dubai Film Festival.
Salma recently confirmed she is still an item with Pinault – who is the CEO of luxury brand giant PPR that includes the luxury labels Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and mass retailer Puma – after telling reporters she thinks of him when she films love scenes with her 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin.
She is quoted as telling TV host Rachael Ray, "I keep telling Francois, 'I imagine I was kissing you.' "
One of France's Richest Men
Pinault - who began dating Salma in May 2006 - is the son of one of France's richest men Francois Pinault, who has an estimated fortune of $16.9-billion (USD). He has two children from a previous marriage.
Mommy & Masterful Breastfeeder
Hayek has been in the news a lot lately. On a recent trip to Sierra Leone to support a tetanus-vaccination project, she nursed a starving baby boy (coincidentally, he was born on the same day as her daughter) she encountered while being filmed by ABC News. She did this, she told the camera crew, in part out of compassion for a suffering child, but also to help lift the stigma against breast-feeding in Africa, where men often think women can't have sex if they're still nursing. "So the husbands, of course, of these women are really encouraging them to stop [breast-feeding]," Hayek said.
Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, in part fueled by malnutrition. Physicians there told Hayek they would like to see mothers breastfeed for a full two years but that pressure from their husbands usually prevents this.
