Javier Bardem discloses the reason he almost didn’t pursue a relationship with Penelope Cruz.

Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz are marking a momentous occasion as the sixth married couple to receive Oscar nominations in acting categories in the same year.

Having been a couple since 2007 and married since 2010, they share two children. They have managed to maintain a low-profile relationship to safeguard their family.

Despite their now-solid relationship, it wasn’t always an easy journey.

In fact, it was 15 years after their initial meeting on the set of the Spanish comedy “Jamón Jamón” that they finally became a couple.

Although Bardem mentioned in a 2017 GQ UK interview that there was an “instant” connection between them on set, their romance didn’t blossom until much later.

As luck would have it, they were brought together once more as co-stars in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” where their mutual attraction eventually ignited.

Nevertheless, Bardem was initially reluctant to pursue Cruz due to what he called her “feistiness.”

Bardem explained that he had concerns about whether he could match Cruz’s intensity when they first met.

He noted, “She’s feisty. We have scenes where we’re arguing, and she’s throwing plates and such. I had to ask myself, ‘Is this what I really want?’ She possesses what I refer to as the loving blood. A passion for everything.”

Besides his initial reservations, Bardem also highlighted another obstacle: neither of them was prepared to make the first move.

It was only during a wrap party held at the conclusion of filming that they both finally expressed their interest in one another.

In 2011, Cruz gave birth to their first child, Leo, in a discreet manner. She kept her life private throughout her pregnancy.

Cruz was expecting while filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” and she discussed this experience with Vogue.

She told the publication, “I was both pregnant and a pirate. A wonderful experience. I want my son — and any future children — to grow up in a way that is as anonymous as possible.”

“The choice his father and I made to do the work we do doesn’t grant anyone the right to invade our privacy.”