Eva Longoria, 49, reveals what it was REALLY like to film raunchy scenes with Jesse Metcalfe, 45, on Desperate Housewives – and says ABC show needed an intimacy coordinator

Eva Longoria has said Desperate Housewives should have hired an intimacy coordinator when she opened up about what it was really like filming so many raunchy scenes with Jesse Metcalfe.

The actress, 49, played Gabriella Solis, a trophy wife who begins a sordid affair with her teenage gardener John Rowland, played by Metcalfe, 45, in the groundbreaking early 2000s ABC comedy-drama.

The pair were often seen enjoying steamy clinches as Longoria’s character fought to hide their illicit romance from her husband Carlos (Ricardo S. Chavira) and the residents of Wisteria Lane.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Longoria said she was ‘so close’ to Metcalfe with whom she would have open conversations about intimate moments – but said show bosses should have had an intimacy coordinator for anyone who felt ‘uncomfortable’.

“I had a lot of intimate scenes,” she said. ‘We both came from soaps, which wasn’t worse, but lots of kissing scenes. So we were both like, okay, whatever. It didn’t really bother us.

The actress, 49, played Gabriella Solis, a trophy wife who begins a sordid affair with her teenage gardener John Rowland, played by Metcalfe

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Longoria said she was “so close” to Metcalfe, with whom she would have open conversations about intimate moments.

“But I look back now and I think, my God, we probably should have had an intimacy coordinator in case anyone felt uncomfortable.

“But Jesse and I were so close that we had a really nice relationship and agreed on what we were comfortable with.” She continued, “We were also on network TV, so we couldn’t do much anyway.

“You know, it was like ‘and fall out of the picture.’ And then I thought, ‘Wow.’

Longoria, who is married to Jose Baston, addressed claims from actors such as Michael Douglas and Sean Bean, who previously claimed that intimacy coordinators “spoilt the spontaneity” of intimate scenes.

“I think they are needed now, and I think it’s great that they are available,” she said.

“They’ve really come into their own during the MeToo and the Time’s Up movement, where actresses are being yelled at in their trailer in Bulgaria by a producer saying, ‘take off your top,’ you know, and it’s not in her contract.

“And she’s holding up production and she’s terrified and she wants to lose her job and she doesn’t want to make an enemy.

‘And so you need that intermediary who says, ‘No, she’s not comfortable with that. You know, this is how we’re going to do it.”

Gabriella and John were often seen enjoying steamy clinches as Longoria’s character fought to hide their illicit romance from her husband Carlos, played by Ricardo S. Chavira

Longoria also revealed who she still keeps in touch with from the hit show

“I think they are necessary and I don’t think anything about sex scenes in movies and TV is ruined [for having intimacy coordinators]. The chemistry, it’s all technical. It’s all choreographed.’

Longoria starred on the show alongside fellow housewives Bree Van de Kamp, played by Marcia Cross, Lynette Scavo, played by Felicity Huffman, and Susan Mayer, played by Teri Hatcher, from 2004 to 2012.

When asked if she still keeps in touch with the cast, she said: “I talk to Felicity all the time. I talk to Marcia a lot, but the one I probably talk to the most is Ricardo Javier, my husband. And Jesse.’

Texas native Longoria starred in The Sentinel and Brooklyn Nine-Nine following her role on the ABC hit, and will next be seen in the Apple drama Land of Women, which she filmed in her new home: Spain.

Longoria – pictured with her husband José Bastón, 56, and their six-year-old son Santiago – also opened up about her move to Marbella, Spain

The TV favorite – who married José in 2016 and has a six-year-old son Santiago with the businessman – bought a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mega-mansion in Marbella in early 2023, with the couple hiring architect and interior designer Nicolás Escanez to help renovate it.

The 1,531-square-foot villa also features an indoor pool, sauna and state-of-the-art home gym.

Speaking about the move from the US, she said: ‘I live more in Spain than here… I would like to be there permanently.

‘I’m a Spanish resident, so I can work and stay there. And you know, we filmed my show Land of Women there for six months, and now I’m about four months into Searching for Spain with CNN.

‘If we get a second season, I’ll just stay. And so I’ve been there non-stop for almost a year.”

Longoria will also appear in the fourth season of the hit series Only Murders in the Building, which debuts on Hulu in late August.