Salma Hayek and Josh Lucas

Who

Oscar-nominated actress Salma Hayek, 56, and SAG Award-nominated actor Josh Lucas, 51.

How They Met

Perhaps Hayek was a big Sweet Home Alabama fan? It's anyone's guess.

Speculation regarding a relationship began after Hayek and Ed Norton's split was made public (by 11-year-old Spy Kids star Daryl Sabara) in the summer of 2003. Lucas and Hayek were spotted holding hands on the set of a Coke commercial the actress was filming that August.

By September, they were red carpet official, appearing at the premiere of Lucas's film Wonderland as well as Anthony Hopkins's Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony.

When They Peaked

Lucas reportedly told Cosmopolitan UK that Hayek was very upset with him for taking on a role in fighter pilot film Stealth due to safety concerns. "My girlfriend at the time, Salma Hayek, said, 'You're an idiot,'" Lucas recalled. "'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.

Salma says safety first!

Why We Loved Them

Hayek and Lucas were tight-lipped about their relationship while together, but it's clear that they've remained supportive of one another in the years since the breakup.

Just one year post-split Hayek attended the premiere of a film Lucas starred in, Poseidon (though based on the reviews, she may have regretted it).

And when Hayek welcomed daughter Valentina two years later, she texted Lucas the news. "I got a text from her the other night," the Ford v Ferrari star told People at the time. "7 lbs, 7 oz., and everyone is healthy and happy."

"For someone you care about and love as much as I love her, I was just so happy for her," he went on. "She will be a doting and loving mother. The way she is with her dogs, I can't even imagine what she'll be like with her kid."

Lucas even shared that he had plans to meet Valentina the following week.

Bad blood? Hayek and Lucas don't know her.

The Breakup

In September 2004, Lucas reluctantly confirmed that he and Hayek had split three months prior.

"We're not still together. I don't really want to talk about it more than that," he told People.

Though, as evidenced by the whole texting-after-giving-birth thing, it doesn't sound like there was too much drama surrounding the breakup.

"If both people are working, it's a problem," Lucas told GQ in 2006 regarding Hollywood relationships. "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."

The magazine asked him if he'd considered quitting the film and Lucas gave a surprising answer.

"I swear to God I wanted to quit Stealth," he said. "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 2015, Hayek opened up to Allure 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."

Again, given the aforementioned post-delivery text, we're going to go ahead and put Lucas in the "good guy" camp.

Where They Are Now

Hayek welcomed daughter Valentina with businessman François-Henri Pinault in 2007. She and Pinault eventually wed in 2009 and are still going strong today.

The actress has a busy last couple of years with major film releases: Marvel box office hit The Eternals and House of Gucci opposite Lady Gaga. Up next for Hayek is the Magic Mike sequel, Magic Mike's Last Dance.

Lucas wed writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez in 2012 and they welcomed son Noah later that year. Ciencin Henriquez filed for divorce less than two years later. 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.

The actor is staying busy and is currently working on several movies, including the Lilly Ledbetter biopic Lilly alongside Patricia Clarkson. He also appeared in the series Yellowstone as a young John Dutton.

#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.

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