Eva Longoria Moved to France. Now She Can’t Stop Telling People Why You Should Too

After a lengthy trip to Europe, there is a certain type of American who can’t stop talking about the bread.

After living in Spain, Mexico, and increasingly France for years, Eva Longoria has evolved into a louder, more articulate version of that person. However, she now has a CNN series and a publicist’s phone number in place of a souvenir tote bag.

The 51-year-old actress recently sat down to promote Eva Longoria: Searching for France, the eight-episode travel program that currently airs weekly on CNN. This is what she has been doing for a few years. She discussed the meals. those who move slowly. the ones that no one is keeping an eye on. “They love a long meal,” she remarked about her husband José Bastón and their son Santiago, who is seven years old. “You’re never in a rush.” Then came the phrase “I don’t miss the working lunch,” which has been subtly going viral in group chats for expats.

It’s a brief remark, but it makes an impact. Her point is clear to anyone who has eaten a depressing desk salad while responding to Slack messages. Observing Longoria discuss Marbella, Bordeaux, and Brittany’s back roads gives the impression that she isn’t truly promoting Europe. Permission is being sold by her. authorization to cease. permission to take a stroll rather than sit in traffic on the 405. She said, almost casually, “There’s no traffic where we live,” to PEOPLE. “I walk everywhere.”

In particular, she has a deeper bond with France than just travel. From 2007 to 2011, Longoria was married to French-American NBA player Tony Parker, who allowed her to experience the nation in a way that most Americans are never able to. Yes, they spent the summers in Paris, but they also lived in Lyon, Faucon, and Limoges, depending on where Parker’s basketball schedule took them. “I really fell in love with France through his eyes,” she replied. “He’s such a patriot.” She remained in the nation after the marriage ended, in part because of her two decades as an ambassador for L’Oréal and her yearly attendance at Cannes.

She is now delving into French cuisine culture and the country’s peculiar, unyielding rise to what she refers to as the world standard for fine dining with the new series. The episodes stray westward toward the coast after passing through Parisian kitchens with chefs like Alain Ducasse. The food isn’t what keeps coming up, but it’s a polished television. It’s her voice. A little evangelical and a little weary of defending herself.

Of course, not everything translates. She acknowledges that she misses her family in Texas. She claims that delicious Mexican food is hard to come by in Europe, and she’s probably right. During their extended stay in Los Angeles this year, her son, who was previously homeschooled, began attending formal school for the first time while she directed The Fifth Wheel, her second motion picture. The family might return to Spain in the near future. How long-lasting any of this is is still unknown.

However, it seems to me that Longoria isn’t actually advising Americans to relocate overseas as she discusses everything. She is urging them to take note of what they have come to terms with. The lunch, which was supposed to last an hour, ended up lasting thirty. The evening was consumed by the commute. Nobody now questions the hazy tiredness. Whether you pack a suitcase or not, she consistently raises the question of whether the majority of Americans truly want to live the way they do, first gently and then less gently.