McHappy Day ambassador Eva Longoria’s admission about ‘brave’ lockdown video
Eva Longoria has told the story behind a “brave” video she posted during lockdown that resonated with women around the world.
Face & Body
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It was the lockdown 2020 video that resonated with women around the world — and no, we’re not talking about that infamous celebrity Imagine singalong.
The clip in question was of Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, who got real with her 8.2 million Instagram followers when she filmed herself box-dyeing her “crazy” grey roots.
While Longoria herself pointed out it was hardly revolutionary — summing up ageing as “nothing you can stop” — she admitted that it was nice that the video did prove “empowering for a lot of women to see”, especially when females are still held to such high beauty standards.
“If there is something inevitable, it is ageing. So it’s not about embracing it, it’s about reality,” the 46-year-old actor, director and philanthropist told news.com.au, speaking from her home in LA.
“So for me, during Covid, I was like, ‘I’m going to let my grey hair grow’. I’ve had grey hair since I was 18, but I’ve never known how much — where is it? Is it just in the front, is it in the back? — so I was like, ‘I’m going to grow it out, I’m ready, I think I’m ready for this grey’.
“And then it grew out — it was about three, four inches — and then was I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not ready, I’m not ready, I’m not ready’.”
Laughing, she added that when asked by L’Oreal if she’d film herself colouring her roots, her answer was an immediate: “Oh my gosh, yes.”
“Because who was going to salons during Covid? Nobody. Everybody was just doing box colours. So it was to show women, hey, everybody does this. And it was really empowering for a lot of women to see that, I think,” she said.
Longoria said that her biggest takeaway from that time was that “we really are living in a global community, and so it’s just increased my awareness of how my actions affect other people”.
“It makes me want to give back more, do more and live a more philanthropic life — meaning putting yourself in other people’s shoes, really caring about your neighbour, doing more for our communities,” she said of the pandemic.
“I think that’s really what I hope we take with us.”
One way the mum-of-one is acting on that is in her role as this year’s McHappy Day ambassador, lending her voice to ask Aussies to support the fundraiser and raising awareness about the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) work to help seriously ill children and their families in their time of need.
Longoria, who met with families of sick children staying in RMHC facilities around Australia, found herself overcome with emotion at their experiences.
“I just couldn’t imagine going through a time like they are going through with a child with a serious illness, as well as being far away from home and not having a support system around you,” she said.
“[Speaking to the mums] was such an emotional experience. You just sit and listen to their stories and all the trials that they’ve been through and with such positivity. I talked to a mum today whose six-year-old has been in treatment for a year, and she has a two-year-old and six-month-old.
“And the world doesn’t stop because you have a child that’s ill. She still has to be a mum to the other kids, she still has to work, she still has to take care of her child with the illness and she was a single mum. And you’re like, ‘Wow, oh my God, how is she doing this?’
“So I just applaud all these women. It was definitely emotional to speak to them, but also very inspiring.”
As for how her approach to self care has changed since she became a mum — to her and husband Jose Baston’s four-year-old son Santiago — Longoria said that it’s something she’s always valued, and a habit she’s maintained.
“It can be something as easy as taking a bath. I meditate and workout and that, for me, is just total self love. To dedicate an hour of time to myself, working out for me is very therapeutic. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want abs’,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s about getting that energy and endorphins in my body to meet the day. All of those steps to me are really about self care.”
Known for her roles across both TV and film, Longoria has steadily added more feathers to her cap, and after 10 years of directing, has directed her first feature, Flamin’ Hot, which she described as “an incredible story that will resonate with people everywhere”.
“But I do love both directing and acting. They are completely different muscles, and each fulfil me differently from a creative standpoint,” she said.
Arguably her most famous role, though, was as Desperate Housewives’ Gabrielle Solis.
Asked what she’d do if the beloved series ever did make a return, Longoria said she’d “absolutely” step back into Gaby’s shoes, laughing that she’d probably be an Instagrammer in 2021.
“I’ve said it a hundred times — I would be the first one on Wisteria Lane,” she said.
“I love that show, I miss Gaby. But it’s not up to me!”
Today, Australians can pick up a pair of ‘Silly Socks’ or a ‘Helping Hand’ from their local Macca’s or via McDelivery. On McHappy Day, this Saturday, $2 from every Big Mac sold goes directly to RMHC.
Originally published as McHappy Day ambassador Eva Longoria’s admission about ‘brave’ lockdown video