Inside Eva Longoria And Jose 'Pepe' Baston's Marriage
Eva Longoria is an absolute powerhouse of a working mother — from her beginnings in the soap world with The Young and the Restless to her iconic role in Desperate Housewives and her work behind the camera directing and producing projects like John Wick, Telenovela, and Grand Hotel. Though the actress had a winding path to true love that began when she wed fellow soap star Tyler Christopher in 2002, it only makes sense that she would ultimately settle down with a television vet.
In 2016, the former Desperate Housewives actress tied the knot with media mogul José "Pepe" Bastón. The Mexican-born businessman was the president of Televisa, the largest media company in Latin America until he stepped down in 2019. By all accounts, their relationship has been far less dramatic than a telenovela or any daytime soap. Rather, it seems like a real-life fairy tale. Here's a look inside the pair's ultra-sweet relationship.
Sparks did not fly
It's a good thing that Pepe Bastón makes a great second impression because he'd never have ended up with Eva Longoria otherwise. According to People, the pair first met "through a mutual friend in 2013" — two years after her divorce from NBA star Tony Parker had been finalized — but sparks did not fly. At the time, Longoria needed to give her heart a break.
"I was getting out of a bad relationship, and he was getting out of a relationship, so there wasn't a connection," she told People. "So, we had a pleasant conversation but there was no real connection."
Six months later, Longoria had forgotten that she ever met Bastón, but when that same friend reintroduced them, it was basically love at second sight. "It was like the cliché angels singing and there was a glow around him and it was immediate chemistry," she said. The following day, the pair went on a four-hour lunch date, and the rest, as they say, was history.
Third time's a charm
You know the saying: third time's a charm. This rang true for Eva Longoria. The star was married twice before tying the knot with Pepe Bastón, and it looks like she finally got it right the third time around. According to The Sun, the actress first married fellow soap star Tyler Christopher in 2002. Their relationship fell apart two years later, and Longoria chalked it up to their youth. It's not easy being young and in love — and that's before you add the super hot soap stars thing into the mix.
After that, the former Desperate Housewives star found love with NBA star Tony Parker, whom she married in 2007. The pair reportedly split after Longoria found "messages from another woman on his phone" even though he "denied the affair." According to People, their divorce was finalized in 2011.
When she met Bastón in 2013, things felt different. Longoria told The Sun that she was "obsessed" with the businessman, and for the first time maybe ever, she felt like she was finally dating her equal. "I want to yell from the highest mountaintop about everything that goes on with us because I'm so happy and excited to be with a person as kind as Pepe is," Longoria told People in 2017. "He is probably one of the first men I've dated that has been older and established and, basically, a grown-up."
Eva Longoria and José Bastón never wanted to get married
Though Eva Longoria and Jose Bastón tied the knot in 2016, there was a time when the pair decided that they never wanted to get married again. According to The Sun, the former Desperate Housewives actress was so traumatized by her split with Tony Parker that "she temporarily stopped eating," and thus, wasn't very hyped to walk down the aisle a third time. Similarly, Bastón was married to telenovela star Natalia Esperón for a decade before their split and wasn't really that fond of tying the knot either.
"I never wanted to get married again and neither did Pepe," Longoria told The Sun. "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 realized I didn't need it because of where I was in my life."
Somewhere along the line, the couple changed their minds. At one point, Longoria told People that she wanted to elope because it'd be "free of guests and guest lists and things like that." They ultimately had a small, traditional wedding, where Longoria finally admitted to Hola! USA (via People) that she'd been "waiting for a day like this [her] whole life."
The pair fast-tracked their wedding
For two people who swore off matrimony, Eva Longoria and Jose Bastón sure fast-tracked their wedding. According to People, the pair got engaged in 2015 during a trip to Dubai after about two years of dating. Bastón opted for an untraditional — but huge — ruby engagement ring. By that time, the businessman had gotten the stamp of approval from the actress' friends, particularly from Ana Ortiz, who worked with Longoria on Devious Maids.
"They're a gorgeous couple, and I've never seen her happier," Ortiz told People. "I am so thrilled that she has someone who is not intimidated by her and who is not afraid by her power, her beauty, her friendship and her drive."
Instead of having a traditional year-long engagement, Longoria and Bastón ended up tying the knot in Mexico City just five months after the businessman popped the question. In an interview with The Sun, the actress described her wedding as "so fast and amazing but also so right."
Eva Longoria's famous bridesmaid designed her wedding dress
Bridesmaid duties typically mean you hold the bride's train — not design it. Then again, most bridesmaids aren't Victoria Beckham. The former Spice Girl, who's Eva Longoria's longtime BFF, went above and beyond the call of duty for the star's 2016 nuptials, for which she custom-designed a sleek, elegant gown for the former Desperate Housewives actress.
According to People, Beckham doesn't typically design wedding dresses, but she made an exception for her close friend. This actually happened to be the very reason Longoria asked her. "I didn't want a wedding dress," the actress told People. "It wasn't my first rodeo and I just wanted something sweet and simple and elegant — and no better person to do it than Victoria."
Thus started the long design process, which saw Longoria secretly fly to London for fittings. Still, the actress claims she didn't "put that much importance" on the dress. "A dress does not make the wedding," she told People. "The centerpiece of a wedding should be love." Okay, but not all weddings have dresses custom-made by Posh Spice.
When's that honeymoon phase ending?
Celebrity marriages are notorious for falling apart at warp speed. Remember when Britney Spears got married for 55 hours, narrowly falling short of Zsa Zsa Gabor's day-long record? You won't see that with Eva Longoria. Though the actress and her businessman hubby tied the knot just five months after getting engaged, it seems like they were always in it for the long haul. Marriage — which is often filled with immense pressure — never changed anything because the paperwork was just a formality. Now, years after meeting, the couple still appears to be in the honeymoon phase.
"People ask us how it is being married now, but we were always married in our hearts and our souls, so the wedding was just a beautiful party to celebrate with everyone," Longoria told People in 2016, "but marriage wise we just are still floating from three years of being together." At what point does the honeymoon phase just become a permanent holiday?
José Bastón is the fashionista in this marriage
Considering the fact that Eva Longoria launched her own clothing line in 2017 and counts fashion mogul Victoria Beckham as one of her closest friends, you'd think that the iconic beauty has a passion for fashion. Don't let the star's history with magazine photoshoots and red carpets fool you. Longoria may be beautiful, and she may like fashion, but Pepe Bastón is this marriage's resident fashionista.
In an interview with People, Longoria revealed that Bastón loves fashion so much, she gave him a cheeky nickname. "We call him 'Mr. Fancy Pants' because he always has a pocket square and a suit," she said. "He's super stylish. He loves fashion way more than I do!" Okay, GQ. Look out!
Longoria further went on to explain that she expected Bastón to be more involved in their wedding planning than she was. Apparently, she's just a low-key kind of gal.
The pair had a child later in life – and it was totally meant to be
Though Eva Longoria was in her early 40s when she tied the knot with Jose Bastón, the couple wasn't focused on having kids. After all, as revealed by Us Weekly, they already had a family that included Bastón's three kids from his previous marriage. They were putting any new baby plans on pause to focus on that.
That didn't stop the pregnancy rumors, which started rearing their ugly heads in April 2017 when Longoria was papped on a boat looking — in her words, "really fat" — while celebrating Bastón's birthday. The actress told her Snapchat followers (via Us Weekly) that she chalked it up to lactose intolerance. Bloating gets the best of everyone.
Despite the false rumors, Longoria did eventually get pregnant. The star became a first-time mom at the age of 43 when she gave birth to the couple's son, Santiago Enrique. In an interview with Parents, she revealed that becoming a mom later in life was actually "meant to be." As she admitted, "I'm more patient, and I don't work as much—even though it doesn't seem that way."
They're raising their son as bilingual feminist
Eva Longoria is really the model for women who want it all. The star even breastfed Santiago while directing ABC's Grand Hotel, and as one of the founders of Time's Up, it's not surprising that she wants to raise a socially conscious son with Jose Bastón. According to Parents, she kept Santiago as a mainstay on her sets so he could be exposed to "strong, independent working women."
"I feel there's more pressure to raise a good man today in this world and to make sure he understands equality and feminism," Longoria said. "But it's not about telling him, it's about showing him in his everyday life."
Longoria and Bastón don't just aim to raise a feminist — they want to raise an activist. According to a different Parents interview, the pair are raising their son as a bilingual global citizen. Before his second birthday, he had already visited four continents and accompanied his mother to visit a migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, so they could both witness the "treatment of refugee families and to talk with immigration lawyers" firsthand. We'll give Santiago until his fifth birthday to change the world. Move over, Greta Thunberg.
José Bastón would rather keep things low-key
Despite some occasional paparazzi picks, Eva Longoria and Pepe Bastón are pretty low-key. The pair don't divulge much about their relationship, and this is largely because Bastón prefers privacy. Remember: Longoria chose a career in front of the camera. Bastón is a businessman who's used to being behind it.
In December 2015, the actress revealed that the couple was at odds when it came to mentioning their relationship to the press. "He's a very private man so he hates when I talk about him," she told People. "But I want to yell from the highest mountaintop about everything that goes on with us."
Today, it looks like the businessman has learned to tolerate the attention — and the pair regularly partake in the classic art of Instagram PDA. Though Bastón doesn't have his own account, Longoria regularly posts loved-up snaps even though she says that he "hates" when she posts his picture.