Salma Hayek on the secret to her marriage: ‘We’ve never said anything nasty to each other’

Salma Hayek says her marriage to Francois-Henri Pinault is so strong because they “put all [their] energy” into resolving any conflict between them.

The ‘Frida’ star has insisted she and her spouse have “never said anything nasty” to one another during their 12-year marriage, because they always try to focus on “solving the problem” whenever an issue arises.

She said: “When there is conflict, we put all the energy in solving the problem – never finding who to blame or, ‘You should have done this or that.’ No. All our energy goes into, ‘How do we solve this?’

“We’ve never said anything nasty to each other. No resentment.”

The 54-year-old actress and her husband have 13-year-old daughter Valentina together, and Salma – who is also stepmother to Francois-Henri’s three children from previous relationships – said she’s been learning to give her daughter space to “be unique” now that she’s a teenager.

Asked about parenting a teen, she said: “I’ve been learning to get out of the way … to let them be who they are. To give them the chance to take the chance to be unique. And that is not easy. And when you give them a voice, the first person they use it [on] is you.”

Salma is keen to “understand boundaries” when it comes to her daughter and her stepchildren, but also wants them to understand she will always be there for them.

Speaking during an appearance on ‘Red Table Talk’, she explained: “Empowerment also comes with understanding boundaries. Good mothers are always gonna wonder, ‘Am I doing the right thing? Did I do the right thing?’ Always, because we care. And because we want to be our very best for you.

“Sometimes when your children go away – because I have stepchildren that are older – there’s such a void that you really don’t know who you are anymore. There is a sense not only of loss – it’s like, ‘Who am I without them? What is my family now?’ “