Salma Hayek Just Responded to Claims She Married Her Billionaire Husband For His Money

For love, not money. Salma Hayek responded to claims she married her husband, François-Henri Pinault, for his net worth. In an interview on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast on Monday, February 15, the Ugly Betty alum shut down rumors that she “arranged” her marriage with Pinault because of his billionaire status.

“In pictures, you cannot begin to guess the magic in him. He’s made me become a much better person and grow in such a good, healthy way,” she said. “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. Fifteen years together.’ And we are strong in love, and I don’t even get offended.”

Pinault is the CEO of the French luxury group Kerig, which was founded by his father, François Pinault. He also is the president of Groupe Artémis, an investment company also founded by his father. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Hayek’s husband is worth $7 billion. In her interview on “Armchair Expert,” Hayek confessed that she knew about her husband’s wealth when she met him but his bank account was “the last thing” she wanted to be associated with. “It was not my type at all,” she said. “I came in with the preconceptions and [François-Henri] melted them all away.”

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Hayek also explained why rumors that she married for money are so hurtful to her.“It’s not just an insult to me. I’m not the one being judged only…they cannot begin to imagine what a joy that human being is,” she said.

In an interview with Allure in 2015, Hayek explained why she keeps her expenses separate from her husband, despite his net worth. “I have a system in my life that I’ve chosen, where my expenses from before the marriage are my expenses,” she said at the time. “And he goes, ‘I know. That’s why I want to marry you.’ Maybe that’s also part of what works great in my marriage. I still have my independence, but he likes it. I get a lot of respect from him.”

Hayek also told the magazine that she considered quitting acting after the birth of her daughter, Valentina, in 2007, but her husband is who convinced her to keep working.

“He said something so beautiful: ‘I don’t want to be deprived of your work. I want to watch it, too. And the world has not seen the best of you yet. So you cannot stop until some of that is put out,’” she said. “So, he sort of really pushed me, like, ‘Get up on your feet and get out there.’ And he was right.”