Eva Longoria is opening up about what she’s had to give up after revealing she had fled the United States in 2024.
The 51-year-old actress – who stunned at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s gala last week – revealed to People that one of the biggest changes she had to get used to was being separated from those closest to her heart after she and her husband, José Bastón, made the decision to split most of their time between Mexico and Spain.
‘I miss my family, my Texas family…’ Longoria said, before adding the other thing she misses most: ‘good Mexican food.’
‘That’s what I miss. That’s what’s not in Europe, is good Mexican food,’ she said, though presumably she can get her fix when her family is back in Mexico.
The Texas-born actress, who had spent her ‘whole adult life’ in California, previously said that she feels the American ‘chapter in my life is done now,’ and she said she no longer wants to live in Los Angeles, which she said has been ‘changing.’
In addition to learning to be apart from family and missing the tasty foods she’s used to, Longoria also had to learn how to ‘slow down’ after experiencing Spanish and European culture.
Eva Longoria is opening up about what she’s had to give up after revealing she had fled the United States in 2024; pictured April 18 in Hollywood
‘I miss my family, my Texas family…’ Longoria told People, before adding the other thing she misses most: ‘good Mexican food’; pictured with husband José Bastón in 2024 in Madrid, Spain
‘They really enjoy life in Spain,’ Longoria explained, contrasting the culture with faster-paced life in the US. ‘[Spaniards] love a long meal. You’re never in a rush.’
Longoria, who shares her seven-year-old son Santiago Bastón with her husband, added that it wasn’t a big loss to give up the ‘working lunch.’
‘It’s so amazing how we really don’t take lunch in our work culture,’ the former Desperate Housewives star mused. ‘You always do the working lunch: “I’m going to go grab a sandwich. I’ll be right back.” You only have an hour. It’s so stressful to think, “I have to hurry up and be back.”‘
Longoria also raved about Spain’s efforts to prioritize pedestrians over car traffic, which allowed her to ‘walk everywhere’ near her home.
But she also revealed that her family was spending more time in Los Angeles, where she had returned ahead of shooting her second directorial feature, The Fifth Wheel.
Her son Santiago was originally homeschooled, but she gave an update on him after he was enrolled in school in LA.
‘He’s loved it,’ Longoria said. ‘He’s been so excited to have classmates and friends and birthday parties.
‘Although we do have a very big family, so he’s always had the social aspect, even when he was homeschooled,’ she added. ‘But he’s really flourishing as a little human being, and it’s really fun to watch.’
‘That’s what I miss. That’s what’s not in Europe, is good Mexican food,’ she said, though presumably she can get her fix when her family is back in Mexico She and Bastón have been splitting their time between Mexico and Spain after fleeing the ‘dystopian’ US; seen April 16 in LA
Though she has been back in LA to shoot her new film, and her seven-year-old son Santiago was enjoying school there, they might return to Spain when she was finished because he missed his cousins and family in Spain; pictured in October 2024 in Paris
Longoria added that she had to get used to Spain’s relaxed pace, which meant no more ‘working lunches’; pictured with Bastón on April 16 in Santa Monica, Calif.
She also raved about being able to ‘walk everywhere’ because Spain has focused on pedestrians over fostering a car culture; pictured April 16 in Santa Monica, Calif.
Longoria also admitted that her family might return to Spain as soon as her responsibilities with the film are wrapped up, as Santiago prefers it to the US.
‘We have a big family, and so a lot of his cousins are in Spain. They’re mostly in Spain and Mexico. And so we like to be surrounded by family,’ Longoria explained. ‘I also think he’s happiest when he’s with family. So I think we take it day by day, year by year.’
Longoria, who has Spanish citizenship, and her producer husband José Bastón, a native of Mexico, had been living abroad while she works on her CNN miniseries Searching for Spain, a follow-up to 2023’s Searching for Mexico.
The Desperate Housewives actress, who campaigned hard for Kamala Harris to win the presidential election, first revealed she was leaving the US because she feared Donald Trump would ‘keep his promises,’ making the US a ‘scary place.’
‘I get to escape and go somewhere,’ the Flamin’ Hot director told Marie Claire magazine in late 2024. ‘Most Americans aren’t so lucky. They’re going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them.’
Her departure came after Trump began to fill key posts in his second administration and sent shockwaves through the Republican party.
Longoria has broken her silence on the disappointment of Trump winning the 2024 White House race.
‘The shocking part is not that he won… It’s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office [in the US],’ the Hollywood multi-hyphenate told Marie Claire magazine.
Longoria, who has Spanish citizenship, and her producer husband José Bastón, a native of Mexico, have been living abroad while she works on her CNN miniseries Searching for Spain, a follow-up to last year’s Searching for Mexico, she revealed in an interview with Marie Claire
‘I would like to think our fight continues… If he keeps his promises, it’s going to be a scary place,’ added the cover girl, who posed for Félix Valiente.
She also revealed that she and her family are happily splitting their time between Mexico and Spain at the time.
The actress was given the honorary title ‘Dame’ due to her family roots tracing back to the Spanish city of Oviedo, where her ancestors are from.
Longoria – who married Bastón in 2016 – purchased a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mega mansion in Marbella in early 2023, and the couple hired architect and interior designer Nicolás Escanez to help renovate.
They started shipping their belongings to the 1,531-square-meter villa – which boasts an indoor pool, sauna, and a state-of-the-art home gym – earlier this year.
The pair also slashed the listing price of their eight-bedroom Beverly Hills pad from $22.8 to $18.9 million in February 2024 because they were ‘ready to get out.’
At the time, Longoria said that while she often ends up in South America or other European destinations for work, she does not frequently return to Los Angeles.
‘I had my whole adult life here,’ Longoria said of her former home in 2024. ‘But even before [the pandemic], it was changing. The vibe was different. And then COVID happened, and it pushed it over the edge.
Eva Longoria – pictured with her husband José Bastón and their son Santiago – quit Los Angeles and have moved full-time to Marbella, Spain
Longoria, who campaigned hard for Kamala Harris to win the presidential election, warned that if Donald Trump ‘keeps his promises’ the US will be a ‘scary place’
‘Whether it’s the homelessness or the taxes, not that I want to s*** on California – it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now.’
Longoria admitted she is ‘privileged’ to have the opportunity to live abroad.
She was joined in the interview by longtime friend and prominent Democratic fundraiser George Clooney.
Clooney and Longoria have fundraised together and connected over their mutual involvement in political activism.
He was adamant that he has been more of a fan than a mentor to Longoria.
‘She kicked a**,’ he continued, referring to her work on Flamin’ Hot, about a janitor who claimed to have helped create the massively popular Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
‘Talent doesn’t sustain you in this business. It requires hard work, determination, and brass balls. We know countless stars who flamed out. The reason she’s still so relevant is because she won’t take no for an answer,’ he said.
Also in the interview, Longoria talked about turning 50.
‘The shocking part is not that he won… It’s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office,’ the Desperate Housewives actress said of Donald Trump, pictured arriving to speak at a meeting of the House GOP conference in November 2024
‘For me, age is just a number, but I’m excited…I refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me,’ she said.
‘I’m cold-plunging; I’ve got red lights on; I strength train with weights; I meditate; I’m journaling…I wake up with the sun; I’m doing the grounding; I have an Oura ring to track deep sleep; I’m taking magnesium and other supplements; I’m doing everything.
‘Not because I don’t want to age but because I do want to age.’
She also reflected on being a woman in the entertainment industry: ‘I show up on time…I show up prepared,’ she said.
‘Our industry is famous for specifically men failing up. It’s like, “He got that movie? Didn’t he just… The last movie, he just…? Didn’t that bomb? And they give him another [chance].”
‘That’s great, but I couldn’t do that. I don’t get a second chance.
‘I think for me, there’s no better position than to be underestimated because then you can always over deliver. I’m comfortable outworking anybody in the room.’
Longoria moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s, landing her first TV gig on Beverly Hills, 90210, before going on to appear on soap operas like General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.
Four years later, she was cast as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, which made her a household name across the country.
George Clooney and Longoria have fundraised together and connected over their mutual involvement in political activism. The longtime friends are pictured at the 2013 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in Santa Monica, California
The actress debuted their luxurious Marbella property in Hello magazine in January, telling the publication: ‘The first time I came to Marbella, two decades ago, it was love at first sight. I said to myself: “Some day I’ll live here.”
‘Later, we set up the Global Gift Foundation, and this is where Antonio Banderas, my best friend María Bravo and I held the first gala.’
She serves as president of The Global Gift Foundation – a non-profit that aims to create a positive impact on the lives of children, women and families who are in need. The charity was founded by María, a Spanish actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, in 2013.
According to its website, the mission of her foundation is to ‘help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship.’
Speaking about finding the house, Longoria said that five years ago she told Escanez ‘When you see the right place, let me know’.
‘I viewed a few places, but nothing was quite what I wanted. Finally, in early 2023, this house came on the market. It needed refurbishing, but it had just the size and location I was after,’ she recalled during the Hello interview.
‘So, taking advantage of the fact that I was in Barcelona filming, I came down and bought it that same day.’
