Eva Longoria Says She Did Not Move Outside of the U.S. Because of Donald Trump or the Election: 'I'm a Proud American'

https://people.com/thmb/hxtAZVudjILgdSAuxx-GnuIxGuM=/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Eva-Longoria-111524-2-b39922d40cf24c74b54cad6bb3bb3344.jpg

"I've been in Europe working for 3 years," the actress said

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Eva Longoria on October 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Eva Longoria is clearing up comments she made about her family living abroad.

The Desperate Housewives alum, 49, revealed in a Tuesday, Nov. 12 cover story for Marie Claire's "Age Issue" that she's been living between Spain and Mexico with her husband José Bastón and their 6-year-old son Santiago for the last few years. Then, on Friday, Nov. 15, she reiterated that she's been living in Europe for years for work and not the current political climate in the United States.

The revelation came as the actress called her friend Ana Navarro while she was recording The View'sBehind the Table podcast. There, Navarro, 52, answered the phone and informed Longoria, who called for a recipe, that she was recording the podcast. 

"Will you please let them know I didn't move out of the United States because of [President-elect Donald] Trump," Longoria immediately said.

Navarro then asked if they could talk about Longoria's move, given that it came up during The View's "Hot Topics" segment earlier that morning. "Actually, your name came up in the discussion," Navarro said. "But you had moved before Trump." 

Related: Eva Longoria Has Been Living Outside the U.S. For Years: 'I Get to Escape and Go Somewhere'

Félix Valiente

Eva Longoria for Marie Claire

Related: Eva Longoria Says She Didn't Realize Being a Latina Actress on Desperate Housewives Was a 'Big Deal' (Exclusive)

"I've been in Europe working for 3 years," Longoria replied. "That's in the article, by the way, the article says that. People just grabbed some clickbait stuff to be divisive. Which makes me so sad that everything you say is just meant to be divisive when we can't be that way right now." 

The star then confirmed she "didn't leave because of the political environment." She added that she's in Catalonia and Spain working on her AppleTV+ show, Land of Women, and also works in Mexico for her series Searching for Mexico.

Longoria also reiterated that she's been in Spain for years. "I just don't like that it's politicized because the [article's] author did a really good job talking about my patriotism," she said.

"I'm a proud American. I've always been a proud American. Proud Texan, proud American," Longoria continued. "I didn't want it to be taken that I left because of Trump — absolutely not — or because of the elections." 

Darren Gerrish/WireImage

Eva Longoria on September 27, 2024 in Paris, France.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

"I don't know why people just wanna grab an excerpt to really exploit it," the star added, prompting Navarro to chime in, "I'll tell you why. It's because I think it's because a lot of people, are wishing that they could somehow escape."

Navarro then clarified again that they did not arrange the call between herself and Longoria, as the Flamin' Hot star said, "I was calling you for tamale day."

"I haven't come out and said anything because it's in the article. There's nothing to clarify. It's in the article that I've been living in Europe for years," she added.

×