Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Salma Hayek recounts hilariously turbulent story of mistakenly thinking her husband was cheating

'I’m Mexican, you know it doesn’t go well. So I was so furious and I said well obviously she’s desperate,' says actor

Maya Oppenheim
Tuesday 25 April 2017 13:17 BST
Comments
Salma Hayek thought her husband was cheating on her

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Salma Hayek had viewers on tenterhooks when she candidly recounted the stress of engaging in complex detective work to find out if her husband was having an affair.

The Hollywood star spoke of how she came to think her husband François-Henri Pinault, who is a French billionaire, was taking part in some untoward deeds with a woman named Elena last week.

Launching into an anecdote on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Hayek said: “So, about a year ago he [her husband] said, ‘you know what guys, I’m going to get a dialect coach and I’m going to get rid of the accent before you who has been living in the States for like 67 years’, referring to me".

“He never mentioned it again so I thought he didn’t do it,” the actor continued.

“A couple of days ago I’m texting someone and I see his phone, and there’s this message.”

Donning her very best and most seductive “other woman” voice, Hayek then proceeded to impersonate the text, saying: “Hi, this is Elena, if you want to improve your English, you have to practice, do you want to practice now?”

Hayek, who was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz in Mexico, then confessed: “I’m Mexican, you know it doesn’t go well”.

“So I was so furious and I said well obviously she’s desperate, he’s not calling her you know, should I say something? I trust him, I won’t say anything.

“Four hours later, we’re eating, I’m cool, I go hi, baby and everything is okay and then I go, who the hell is Elena!”

Despite her husband saying he had no idea who the woman was, Hayek continued to take him to task, saying: “You tell that Elena that I speak English and you can practice your English with me because she sent you a message.”

After some time, the couple finally came to the realisation that the text came from a language app he had downloaded called ELSA.

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

“But don’t get it because his French accent is still very strong, so ELSA doesn’t work,” Hayek concluded.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in