Salma Hayek Says Courthouse Wedding to François-Henri Pinault Was a Complete Surprise

Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault were married at a courthouse in Paris on Valentine’s Day in 2009, but the celebration was actually a total surprise to the Magic Mike’s Last Dance star. Hayek says she wasn’t aware she was getting married to the French fashion mogul until the day of their wedding. In a cover interview with Glamour published on February 8, 2023, the actress reveals that her courthouse ceremony was a complete surprise, and she had no part in planning any of it. “I didn’t even know I was getting married that day,” she admits. “It was like an intervention. I don’t think I ever told this story. No, they just took me to the court. My parents, my brother, they were all ganging up on me. I had a phobia of the marriage thing.”

Hayek explains that her family’s persistence was one reason why they had a courthouse wedding in the first place. “I was nervous,” she recalls. After the couple traded vows, everyone celebrated at a reception, which Hayek also didn’t orchestrate. “And then after, there was a lunch at his parents’ house,” she remembers. “My mother-in-law, who’s the most tasteful person when it comes to entertaining, had already been doing the lunch. I had no choice.”

To clarify, Hayek notes that she had already agreed to spend the rest of her life with the CEO and chairman of Kering, but she didn’t want a wedding. “It was because I had said yes to the marriage, but I just wouldn’t actually show up on the day or do it,” she says. “And then afterwards I said, ‘Oh, it’s okay. I don’t feel any different.’” However, after saying “I do,” the Frida actress started coming around to the idea of a wedding. “And then a little bit later I said, ‘Okay, this is kind of exciting,’” she admits. “And he’s like, 'Can we have a party now?'” In April of 2009, the duo hosted a larger ceremony in Venice, Italy, and they invited all of their friends to attend. 

In 2018, Pinault surprised his wife again with another wedding-related festivity. He planned a secret vow renewal while they were vacationing in Bora Bora. In order to conceal the details, he tricked his wife into thinking they were getting a spa treatment. This time, though, it was a pleasant surprise. “The summer is coming to an end and my best moment was when my husband surprised me with a vow renewal - it was not what I would have chosen to wear to my wedding but I was told I was going to the spa!” she posted on Instagram. For the occasion, the actress wore a pink high-neck dress and later added a flower crown and lei. 

Although the actress wasn’t initially keen on hosting a wedding, she and Pinault have been happily married for 14 years. They’re also parents to 15-year-old Valentina Paloma, and the businessman has three other children—François, Mathilde, and Augustin—from his two previous relationships, to whom Hayek is a stepmother.

After over a decade of marriage and parenting, the House of Gucci star shares how she avoids getting in a rut—she embraces the ordinary. “Boredom is underestimated,” she says. “I didn’t understand this for a long time. Also, it helps that we met each other later in our lives. It’s okay just to do nothing and be together. Sometimes, sharing a space and doing your own thing in silence, with connectivity and thoughtfulness—'Can I bring you a cup of tea?'—is enough. It’s little, simple things.”