Javier Bardem Reveals Why He And Penelope Cruz Dated 'Many Years' After First Meeting

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz’s love story resembles a fairytale. Their connection began when they first met in 1992, but it took years for them to finally come together as a couple. In a recent interview promoting his latest Netflix project, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Bardem took a moment to reflect on his enduring romance with Cruz, sharing insights into their journey together.

Javier Bardem, while speaking with Gentleman’s Journal, shared that he first met Cruz on the sets of 1992’s Spanish-language film Jamón Jamón. “She was 17, and I was 22. It was her first movie; one of my first movies. A big movie. We met on the wardrobe test, where we looked at each other, and I guess something happened. Something that doesn’t have any explanation and goes beyond logic and reasoning.”

Back then, both Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz had different lives, different objectives and aims, as the actor explained in the interview. Further recalling how he felt at that moment, Bardem added, “Yet, something was there — an energy, a chemistry, a way to rely on each other as human beings. And that stayed for so long.”

The couple reignited their love in 2008 during their onscreen reunion in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Two years later, the couple made it official with their first public appearance together at the Goya Awards. In the same year, they also got married to each other in the Bahamas.

“We realized that the feeling was still alive. Very alive,” Javier Bardem expressed as he reminisced about the time when he reconnected with Cruz. “We were both single at that moment, so naturally what had to happen happened — two people reconnected because they shared tons of things, way more than they expected,” the actor informed.

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz are blessed with two children – a son Leo and a daughter Luna. The duo, over the years, have also worked together in movies like The Counselor, Everybody Knows and Loving Pablo among others. Besides his latest Netflix release, Bardem was also seen in the blockbuster Dune: Part 2, released earlier this year. Penelope Cruz, on the other hand, last appeared in the 2023 film Ferrari.