Cara Santana opened up about how she made her romance with ex-fiancé Jesse Metcalfe work just a few hours before they split.
The Santa Clarita Diet alum, 35, told Us Weekly exclusively on January 4 that maintaining balance in her relationship with Metcalfe, 41, has allowed them to be successful after 13 years together. “It’s the thing that really, like, probably has given us such longevity in our relationship,” she told Us at the Art of Elysium’s 13th annual celebration, where she and Metcalfe made their last appearance as a couple.
“We both have such fulfilling professional lives and we’re both so ambitious and I’m really focused,” she continued. “So, I think that’s something that we really respect in one another and that creates balance, because you’re separate and then you really value the time that you have together. I think it’s all part and parcel of, like, what makes us work.”
Us broke the news on Wednesday, January 22, that Metcalfe and Santana “split” on January 4 and “are not together.” A source added, “They are not even living together. He did not cheat on her.”
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail posted photos of the Desperate Housewives alum cozying up with two different women weeks after Santana’s comments to Us. He was photographed holding hands with model Livia Pillmann while dining at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. Hours later, he was spotted getting close to another woman while visiting Attic bar in Sherman Oaks, California.
In August 2016, Us exclusively reported Metcalfe and Santana were engaged after dating for a decade. The John Tucker Must Die actor asked for his former longtime love’s hand in marriage with a 5.5-carat diamond sparkler while aboard a sailboat on the Hudson River in New York. Metcalfe told Us at the time that their engagement was “a long time coming” and that they “couldn’t be happier.”
More than two years into their engagement, Santana confirmed to Us exclusively in March 2019 that the exes were “nowhere” in their wedding planning process.
At this month’s Art of Elysium event, Santana talked about how she and Metcalfe have done their relationship on their “own terms” over the years. “In a modern couple, it’s nice to be able to be like, ‘He’s 41, I’m 34 and we’re taking our time,’” the fashion blogger. “And it’s just easy.”
Santana added that it would be “hard to imagine” their lives “without children” in the picture. But she had “no desire” to start a family at the time.
“That’s like the worst sound bite ever, but I have to have two amazing dogs. We’re fostering a medically fragile French Bulldog right now and so those three dogs feel like my children,” she continued. “Jesse, he’s like a grown man child. So, you know, there’s that too.”
With reporting by Carly Sloane
