﻿Salma Hayek and Josh Lucas did not have a long relationship by Hollywood or any other standards.
They were together for about a year before calling off their romance and parting ways. Their breakup
wasn't what shocked the public. Instead, it was the pair's surprising friendship that followed.
No one expected Salma and Josh to remain such good friends after their whirlwind love story.
Like many couples, Salma Hayek and Josh Lucas were introduced by a mutual friend
in 2003. That friend was Jennifer Connelly. This wasn't long after Salma's split with Ed Norton
was made public in the summer of that year. Speculations about their budding romance were
first sparked when Hayek and Lucas were spotted holding hands on the set of a Coke commercial that
the thirty-seven-year-old actress was filming. Their relationship moved forward quickly,
and by September of that year, thirty-two-year-old Josh and Salma made their relationship red carpet
official at the premiere of his film 'Wonderland.' The couple seemed to be enjoying their time
together and supported one another with the various projects each was working on at the time.
Unfortunately, a happy ever after was not meant to be for Salma and Josh. From the very beginning,
the pair had been very tight-lipped about the details of their relationship. So much so that
when they broke up in June 2004, the public didn't find out until three months after it happened.
They dated for about a year or so before eventually calling off their
romance. After news broke of their split, the former couple never revealed the reason
why things didn't work out between them. In September of that year, Josh reluctantly
confirmed their relationship was over. "We're not still together. I don't really want to talk
about it more than that." He admitted. It wasn't until two years later that Lucas
made a brief comment about their breakup. He simply said, "If both people are working,
it's a problem." - Hinting that perhaps their intense busy schedules prevented the former couple
from being able to spend enough time together. "In the case of Salma and I, she was in South
Africa doing a movie, and I was in Australia making 'Stealth,' and with the time that we spent
apart, invariably, we broke up." He explained. When asked if he had considered quitting the film,
he gave a very surprising response, "I swear to God I wanted to quit Stealth," he said, adding,
"That is the thing about the business. The choices you make and the movies become human life choices,
in terms of 'What does this mean for my life.'" In fact, while they were still together,
Salma hadn't wanted Josh to be part of 'Stealth.' Lucas admitted that the actress
was very upset with him for taking on the role in the fighter-pilot film due to safety concerns.
He recalled how she called him "an idiot" and said, "'You're putting yourself at risk
for a movie, and I don't respect that.'" Evidently, she was on the right track,
as Lucas got a concussion while filming. Perhaps they would still be together if he
hadn't taken on his role in the film, but that's something we'll never know. As for their breakup,
it seemed to be the simple issue of distance and time apart - something that a lot of Hollywood
couples are very familiar with. At least it wasn't anything messier than that.
The lack of drama in their relationship and the subsequent split is likely what helped
Salma and Josh maintain their friendship over the years. A fact that not all couples
in Hollywood can claim, regardless of how long or short they have been together.
In 2006, Hayek eventually found the man she was destined to be with, François-Henri
Pinault. The following year, they welcomed a daughter, Valentina. As a testament to
her close friendship with Lucas, she shared the exciting baby news with him via text message.
Josh revealed, "I got a text from her the other night. 7 lbs, seven oz., and everyone
is healthy and happy." He added, "For someone you care about and love as much as I love her,
I was just so happy for her. She will be a doting and loving mother." The actor even shared that he
had plans to meet Valentina the following week. When Salma and François-Henri tied the knot in
2009, her ex had nothing but kind words to say about her wedding. "I love her. It's
great for her. It's what she wanted." A few years later, Hayek opened up about her
romantic history and how she was "worried" she wouldn't meet the right guy. "You get desperate,
and you start seeing wonderful things in, like, the wrong guys,"
she said. "I also found some pretty good guys." For his part, after dating Semla, Josh has been
linked to other famous women in the industry, most notably Anne Hathaway and Rachel McAdams.
He went on to marry Jessica Henriquez in 2012, and their son, Noah, was born that same year.
Unfortunately, he and Jessica divorced in 2014. Lucas was most recently linked to model Rachel
Mortensen in early 2021; however, by December of that year, they had apparently split up,
and he had wiped her off his Instagram. While some breakups between stars can cause
huge headlines or become rumor mill fodder for months on end, this was not the case
between Hayek and Lucas. And because of this, not only did the pair go their separate ways
with dignity, but they also have been able to maintain their friendship to this day.