Linda Evangelista is one of the most iconic 90s supermodels. The Canadian model made a name for herself as the muse of American fashion photographer, Steven Meisel, who shot for magazines including Vogue and W. During this time, Linda also became known for iconic cropped haircut, which was labelled ‘the Linda’ and for her quotes, including the famous line, “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”
It wasn’t however, just Linda’s modelling achievements that were of interest to her many fans—the supermodel’s many high profile relationships were closely followed by the public.
Below, we look back at her most famous romances to date.
Gerald Marie
Linda married Gerald Marie in 1987, when she was just 22 years old. At the time, Marie was a very famous French modelling agency boss, who was 15 years older than Linda. As two iconic figures in the modelling world, their relationship soon gained power couple status, before they separated in 1993.
Years later, in 2020, Marie was accused of sexually assaulting a number of the women he worked with. Since the allegations have come to light, Linda has supported the women who came forward and has maintained she didn’t know anything about the alleged assaults while they were together.
“During my relationship with Gerald Marie, I knew nothing of these sexual allegations against him, so I was unable to help these women,” Linda told The Guardian’s Weekend Magazine.
While Linda isn’t close to her ex-husband, she does keep up with his family. When her former step-daughter, (Marie’s daughter) Roxanne, gave birth a child, Linda posted a picture of the baby on Instagram and referred to herself as a granny.
“It’s official. I am now a granny,” Linda wrote on Instagram. “In 1987 I received such a gift of forever love. That gift has given me a blessing.”
Kyle MacLachlan
Linda met Kyle MacLachlan, who is known for playing Charlotte York’s first husband Trey in Sex and the City and Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, in 1992. The couple met while shooting a commercial for Barney’s department store in New York City, while Linda was still married to Marie.
While the couple were rumoured to have gotten together that very night, MacLachlan later told The Guardian that it was actually a different night.
“We didn’t get together the first night. We actually got together the second night,” he told the publication.
By 1995, Linda was publicly talking about wanting to marry MacLachlan, even admitting to putting pictures of engagement rings on their fridge.
“I want to get married, and I drop hints all the time, and not even subtle hints, I come right out and beg. I even cut out pictures of big huge engagement rings out of magazines and I put them on the refrigerator with little magnets! He treats me good,” Linda said on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
While the couple got engaged later that year, they never ended up making it down the aisle and broke up in 1998.
“We’ll always remain friends, and our families are still close,” Linda told People about the split. “I still see Kyle regularly — as well as our two dogs. The bond will always be there.”
MacLachlan later opened up about the breakup to the The Guardian, revealing he “quite happy just being with” Linda but “obviously she wanted more.”
“I wasn’t necessarily resistant to marriage but it seemed like I was, and maybe I was, but I just liked things the way we were,” he added. “She called it a day.”
Fabien Barthez
In her 30s, Linda moved to the French Riviera and met world famous footballer Fabien Barthez on a night out in St Tropez. The couple had an on-off relationship for a couple of years, until Linda fell pregnant. Sadly, the baby was still born—an experience Linda still describes as one of the most difficult things she has ever had to go through. The couple later split in 2000.
Francois-Henri Pinault
In 2005, Linda had a brief romance with French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. At the time, Pinault was rumoured to be on a break with his then-girlfriend and now-wife, Salma Hayek. During their fling, Linda fell pregnant and gave birth to the couple’s child, Agustin James Evangelista in October 2006.
By then, Pinault was back with Salma Hayek, who gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Valentina, just four months later. Everything became a little more complicated when Linda filed a lawsuit against Pinault in 2011, asking for child support.
In court, Pinault downplayed the relationship, stating “We were dating four months and I didn’t even know her very much. She was so happy to be pregnant but it was not planned. I decided to stop the relationship at that point.”
After the matter was settled, the family seem to have moved forward, with Linda’s son often spending time with his father and Hayek. In 2021, Hayek posted a photograph of herself an Augustin on Instagram, which Linda commented love hearts underneath.
Peter Morton
Linda was most recently publicly linked to Peter Morton, a millionaire and co-founder of Hard Rock Café. The couple met in 2006, when Linda was still pregnant with her son but separated in 2013. According to Page Six sources, the couple separated due to disagreements over where to live, with Linda being based in New York and Morton wanting to live in California.
