Walter Finch
DESPERATE Housewives star Eva Longoria is upping sticks and moving to Marbella.
LA-based Longoria, 49, and her husband, Mexican businessman Jose Baston, 56, are moving to the Costa del Sol for the sake of their five-year-old son, Santiago, insiders claim.
Sources have confided to DailyMail.com that the couple see Marbella as an escape from California and the dangers of Santiago getting ‘sucked into the Hollywood cycle’ if he grows up there.
Texas-born Eva has long had links to Marbella through her connections with the Global Gift Foundation, which has been throwing glamorous galas on the costa since 2012.
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Last year, the couple purchased a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom luxury property in Marbella, with the support of architect and interior designer Nicolas Escanez.
The extensive renovations have transformed the villa into a modern oasis complete with an indoor pool, sauna, and gym.
Longoria gave intimate access to the new residence to Hello magazine, where she spoke about how hard it had been to find the perfect place in Marbella for her family.
“I viewed a few places, but nothing was quite what I wanted. Finally, in early 2023, this house came on the market,” she told the magazine.
“It needed refurbishing, but it had just the size and location I was after.
“So, taking advantage of the fact that I was in Barcelona filming, I came down and bought it that same day.”
She also gave Marbella a glowing review over Los Angeles, which she described as ‘always super busy’ and ‘not really so glamorous.’
READ MORE: Eva’s coming back to Marbella
“I’m either on set, or in a meeting, or stuck in traffic… there’s so much traffic,” she fumed.
“Both LA and Marbella are close to the sea and have wonderful weather year-round, but apart from that, they couldn’t be more different.”
So keen are Longoria and Baston to move to Spain that they have even knocked €4 million off the €22 million asking price on their LA mansion.
Longoria went on to describe how her relationship with Marbella was ‘love at first sight’ from her initial visit two decades ago.
“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 continued.
Longoria, as the foundation’s president, has been influential in leveraging her celebrity status to generate a positive impact on communities in need, particularly focusing on empowering Latinas through education and entrepreneurship.
Eva has Spanish citizenship and, in 2022, was given the honorary title ‘Dame’ due to her family roots tracing back to the Spanish city of Oviedo, where her ancestors are from.
