SALMA’S BABY SCARE
TRIAL SHOCKER
MOVIE STAR Salma Hayek was haunted during her difficult pregnancy by fears that her daughter Valentina might be born with Down syndrome.
Hayek’s billionaire husband revealed his wife’s up-till-now private agony Friday while testifying during his high stakes court battle over child support with supermodel Linda Evangelista.
“She was having a very difficult pregnancy,” Francois-henri Pinault said of Hayek. “In fact, we were told the baby had Down syndrome until late May 2007.”
Pinault, who got Evangelista pregnant during a four-month affair before he married Hayek, explained the tricky timing in Manhattan Family Court.
“I asked Linda to delay the legal recognition process (of son Augustin) until after the birth of Valentina,” he said. “It was a very difficult pregnancy. She almost lost the baby.”
Asked by Evangelista’s lawyer whether she agreed, Pinault answered “Yes.”
“Were you grateful?” asked attorney William Beslow.
“Yes,” the Frenchman replied.
Hayek was not in the courtroom to hear her ordeal laid bare as Evangelista presses Pinault to cough up as much as $46,000 a month in child support for 5-year-old Augustin.
Valentina was born syndromefree and healthy in September 2007 — almost a year ear after Augie.
The voluptuous s actress, who became a mom om at age 41, has spoken in n the past about her difficult ult pregnancy, but not about bout the frightening Down wn syndrome warning.
Pinault’s revelation evelation about his wife overshadowed the testimony mony of Evangelista, 46, who took kh the stand dd dressed d to db do battle l in a white pencil skirt and python Christian Louboutin stilettos paired with a cream-colored Chanel bag.
Evangelista described how she became one of the world’s most famous faces — and complained there’s “not a lot of demand” for her catwalk services now.
“I won’t do it unless I’m paid in the area of $100,000,” she insisted.
Evangelista, who - has graced more than 600 magazine covers during her modeling - career, says Augie needs e armed bodyguards and a round-the-clock nanny.
She also wants Pinault to provide their son a home on par with the $12 million California mansion he put in a trust for his now 4-year-old Valentina.
Pinault, 49, also has two other children from a previous marriage. While Evangelista is said to be worth $8 million, Pinault is an heir to a $11.5 billion family estate and presides over a fashion empire.
Under questioning by Beslow, Pinault admitted he spent $100,000 on a fancy watch for himself in 2010 but couldn’t remember what he spent on the “piano thing” he bought Augie for Christmas. He also couldn’t recall what he bought his son for his fourth birthday.
On Thursday, Beslow charged Pinault told Evangelista to get an abortion when she told him she was pregnant with Augie — a claim Pinault’s people hotly denied.
Pinault also suggested that Evangelista might h have “taken steps” to get p pregnant and his lawyer ca called the supermodel’s decision to take him to court “a classic case ca of someone tryin trying to bootstrap herself he into disguised a alimony.”