Eva Longoria: A Harvest of Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness

I had the chance to get “Up Close and Personal with Eva Longoria” and in talking with her it quickly became obvious that Eva is quite different than the spoiled, self-centered, ex-model, Gabrielle Solis, she played on Desperate Housewives.

While Eva has graced the covers of Marie Claire, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, she is more than just a beautiful, sexy woman. She is informed, articulate, and outspoken about social and political issues that include immigration reform, labor laws for farm workers, and the roles available for Latinos/Latinas in Hollywood, as well as in life.

While Gabby was busy lunching with the ladies on Wisteria Lane, Eva got her Master’s Degree in Chicano Studies and Political Science. While Gabby could barely boil water, Eva wrote a cookbook and at one time owned two restaurants.

As Eva explained, she packs every minute of every day. She said she’ll sleep when she’s dead. She called me to do the interview while she was in between scenes on the set of Desperate Housewives, and she launched right in wasting no time with pleasantries. She was like a race horse anxious to get to the finish line.

I’m used to talking with my celebrity guests for at least an hour, sometimes more, but with Eva I was lucky to get half the time. Fortunately, she can say more in 29.36 minutes than some people do in an entire day.

She talked about growing up on a ranch outside Corpus Christi that has been in her family for nine generations; her mom, Ella, who is her role model; her older sister Liza, who is mentally challenged, and was Eva’s hero growing up; her divorce from Tony Parker; her plans after Desperate Housewives ends; what life lessons she’s learned; the philanthropic work she is most passionate about; and much more.

One of the films Eva produced is called The Harvest about the children of Latino migrant workers in America, who travel with their parents from farm to farm picking the food that ends up on our table.

LIFE LESSON: If people understood the harm caused by pesticides used in growing our food, they’d be outraged. Many people don’t want to know the connection between what they eat and the diseases they get. If they did, it would be insane to not read labels and make wiser choices about what we put in our bodies. If people don’t care about their own health, why would they care about migrant workers, who breathe in and handle food sprayed with carcinogenic chemicals.

Eva suggests buying organic produce. The few extra pennies is one of the best investments we can make in our health.

When someone sent me some chocolate-covered strawberries, I knew they were on the Dirty Dozen list of foods that hold the most pesticide, so I threw them away.

We can vote with our dollars. Boycott greedy companies that use pesticides, plastic containers, and don’t treat their workers fairly; and support conscious companies that care about our earth, their employees, and their customers.

The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.”

– Cesar Chavez

A report said Hostess Brands—the company that makes Twinkies and Wonder Bread—was facing bankruptcy. I want to believe it’s because people are smarter about putting sugar, fat, artificial flavoring, and empty calories into their children’s bodies and calling it a treat, and less gullible about ads that promise white bread builds strong bodies 12 ways.

When I asked Eva what important life lesson she’s learned, she referred to her divorce from Tony Parker who she’d been with for seven years. She said her whole identity was wrapped up in being his wife. She said marriage was sacred in her family, and she and Tony would say divorce wasn’t an option.

While it didn’t work out the way she had hoped, Eva wasn’t bitter and angry. She never said anything negative about her ex-husband, who caused her public humiliation when the media revealed hundreds of texts from the wife of a former teammate on his phone. Eva has always exuded class and dignity.

In this clip, Eva gives some great advice to women about not wrapping your whole identity around your partner or defining yourself by your career.

LIFE LESSON: Forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves. It’s a hard thing to master—whether we’ve been betrayed by a husband or disappointed by a friend. But if we don’t, than we carry the animosity, resentment, and anger inside us—which poisons our bodies, and does us more harm than the person who hurt us.

Forgiveness allows us to live happily in the present rather than miserably in the past. We can’t make someone love us, or treat us with respect. All we can do is be responsible for our own actions, choices, and behaviors.

When we were done talking, Eva was going to jump on a conference call with eight board members from one of the charities she supports. Then back to the set of Desperate Housewives. After that she probably had ten more commitments lined up. While I sat still for a minute, exhausted by the speed and intensity with which she spoke. Most people could not keep up with Eva’s schedule. She inspired me to step it up and do more to make a difference. Do more of the things I am passionate about, show others more kindness and compassion. Eva says we have more time than we think, and we waste a lot of it.

Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.”

– Thomas A. Edison

LIFE LESSON: Do you wish you had time to write a book, clean your house, take a class, cook a healthy meal, exercise, learn to paint, study Italian, or start a business, yet you spend hours on Facebook or chatting with friends on the phone.

Be aware of how you spend your time. Clip coupons, iron clothes, or exercise while you’re watching TV. Try and do something each day that moves you closer to your dreams.

Update

In 2013, Eva started dating José “Pepe” Bastón, the president of Groupo Televisa and one of the most influential men in Mexico. The couple got married in 2016, and in 2018, at the age of forty-three, Eva gave birth to a son, Santiago Enrique Bastón.

Here is my entire interview with Eva Longoria.

Let me know what you think.