Eva Longoria wants to make one thing clear: She is not a desperate housewife. She just plays one on TV.
The actress and her husband of five months, San Antonio Spur Tony Parker, are maintaining a united front amid allegations that the NBA star carried on an affair with a French model, not only denying the reports but stepping out in solidarity—and seemingly good spirits—in Los Angeles Thursday night.
The dalliance rumor first surfaced Wednesday on the blog of paparazzi agency x17, which relayed the infidelity claim made by French model Alexandra Paressant.
Paressant, who apparently has a history of lobbing similar accusations against internationally famous athletes, said she first met Parker on July 7, his wedding day, when she was introduced to the basketball player as the guest of French soccer star Thierry Henry.
The 26-year-old alleged she became fast friends with the newlywed and continued phoning and texting Parker. She said they consummated their relationship in Paris in September, when Parker was in town receiving his French Legion of Honor award.
Paressant said she decided to come forward after she learned that Parker purportedly had been cheating on her with a third mystery woman.
Almost immediately, Parker, 25, and Longoria, 32, vehemently denied the accusations.
"Tony has been nothing short of the perfect husband," said Longoria, who has adopted her husband's name both professionally and personally.
Parker, too, defended his honor. "I love my wife," he said. "She's the best thing in my life, and I have never been happier."
Longoria's rep, Liza Anderson, labeled the allegations "completely, 100 percent false and untrue. All high-profile couples fall victim to these sorts of things in the course of their relationships. It appears this is not the first time this woman has used an athlete to gain public notoriety."
Last year, Paressant was romantically linked with Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, who, current U.S. Beckhamania aside, is arguably acknowledged to be the best and most popular soccer player in the world.
The duo made headlines at the time of the 2006 World Cup, when shortly after Brazil was knocked out following a series of lackluster performances, Paressant villainized the star and delivered a major blow to his international image by blaming his alleged hard partying before matches.
Ronaldinho not only denied the allegations, he denied he ever had a relationship with Paressant beyond "a conversation between acquaintances." He later threatened legal action against the model, whose claims subsequently died down.
On his morning radio show, E! News host and longtime Longoria pal Ryan Seacrest spoke out in defense of his friends' union and cast even more doubt on the legitimacy of the report, claiming that the woman featured in videos and photos on the x17 site isn't even Paressant.
"Eva told me, she said that the girl in the photos, the one that was accusing Tony, the girl who wrote the messages and the story, is different than the girl in the pictures," he said Friday. "That girl in the pictures isn't even the same girl involved in the incident.
"Apparently the French model is the one making the false claims about hooking up with Tony Parker. And the girl in the pictures is a German model. I said, 'Thank God, 'cause she's hot!' "
To further prove their allegiance, Parker and Longoria stepped out very publicly Thursday, taking care to be photographed in tandem—while refusing to be baited into proffering soundbites on the state of their union.
In the afternoon, Parker paid a high-profile visit to Longoria on the L.A. set of a L'Oréal photo shoot, where the spokesmodel actress filmed new spots for the makeup purveyor.
Later in the day, Longoria accompanied the injured Parker to the Lakers-Spurs game, cheering on the team from the sidelines alongside buds Mario Lopez, Kevin Connolly, Sheryl Crow and, of course, Seacrest.
Following the game, the happy couple made their way to Hollywood sushi hot spot Katsuya, where they dined with a large contingent of friends and, according to reports, were not stingy with the PDAs.
The quiet duo exited the restaurant hand in hand amid a throng of paparazzi. They're set to spend the holidays at home in San Antonio.