Salma Hayek Says She 'Didn't Even Know' She'd Get Married on the Day of Her Courthouse Wedding

Salma Hayek and husband
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Hayek describes her courthouse wedding as 'like an intervention' from her well-intentioned family.

Salma Hayek says she "didn't even know" she was getting married on the day of her wedding, describing the courthouse ceremony as an "intervention" staged by her family. 

"I had a phobia of the marriage thing," Hayek says in Glamour's February cover story.

"I didn't even know I was getting married that day. It was like an intervention," she continues. "They just took me to the court. My parents, my brother, they were all ganging up on me." 

Hayek married French billionaire François-Henri Pinault on Valentine's Day in 2009. The couple had already welcomed a daughter, Valentina, in 2007. She is now 15.

Hayek elaborated that her courthouse wedding wasn't a choice made out of a desire for simplicity. "The reason why it was a courthouse wedding was because they dragged me there," she says. "I was nervous. And then after, there was a lunch at his parents' house. 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." 

Hayek recounted the story on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday, going on to say she's since married Pinault four times. 

"Never been divorced," she told the audience, explaining that after she got over her initial fear, new wedding ideas kept inspiring her. 

"After, I was like, 'OK, I kind of like it that I am married now. I want to party!'" she said. After the first party, though, Hayek said she and Pinault hosted a third celebration because she hadn't liked the cake at the second. For the fourth time, their family surprised the couple with a return to the site of the third ceremony so they could marry with all their loved ones surrounding them. 

Clearly, the union has proved successful. Now, Hayek's marriage advice might sound as unconventional as her wedding. "Boredom is underestimated," she tells Glamour. "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." 

Lauren Dukoff / Glamour

The simplicity has helped her age gracefully, she says. "I thought getting older meant I wasn't going to work; I'm working. I thought getting older maybe meant that you're not in love anymore; I'm in love. I don't feel that I lost my flexibility or my agility or even my strength. I do have to say that I have found it beautiful, getting older with someone." 

Hayek now stars in Magic Mike's Last Dance with Channing Tatum, the third and final installment in the Magic Mike franchise. 

Hayek says that her work with Tatum, along with writer Reid Carolin and director Steven Soderbergh, has been exceptionally fulfilling.

"They're the kind of new type of man that really wants to understand—'What's the best way to be a man? What's the best way to support women?' I felt so heard, seen, and respected," she says. 

Magic Mike's Last Dance is in theaters Feb. 10. 

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