Eva Longoria Says the ‘Desperate Housewives’ Costume Designer Made Her Feel Better When She Gained Weight

Desperate Housewives was a phenomenon on ABC from 2004 to 2012. The comedy/drama helped make cast members household names, including actor Eva Longoria.

Longoria’s character had an entertaining arch throughout Desperate Houswives‘ run on the air. The actor once addressed the fifth season of Desperate Housewives, which skipped ahead five years. The time jump affected all the characters, but Longoria felt it personally because she happened to gain weight between seasons 4 and 5.

‘Desperate Housewives’ creator Marc Cherry jumped ahead 5 years to reset the show

Longoria said creator Marc Cherry was already planning on the time jump to add to the drama of Desperate Housewives. She felt it fortunately coincided with her physical changes.

“I remember this five year jump was kind of Marc being under the pressure, ‘I’ve got to reset, I’ve got to shake things up,” Longoria said in a 2020 Stars in the Home interview. “I had short hair and gained weight. It was a necessity.”

Delaney added that five years allowed the young characters to catch back up with the actors who played them. It also gave Gabrielle (Longoria) toddlers.

“Also the kids had all gotten older and I think they wanted to have the kids jump five years,” Delany said. “That was an opportunity there.”

Eva Longoria remembers when Gabrielle’s wardrobe didn’t fit

Gabrielle often wore revealing outfits on Desperate Housewives. By season 5, Longoria recalls necessitating wardrobe changes.

“I had gained, in life, weight,” Longoria said. “So I was like, ‘I can’t lose all of this by the time we start shooting.’ It’s so funny because Cate Adair who was our fabulous costume designer and English, I came back in for a fitting for season 5. She pulled all these clothes based on my normal size and nothing would zip up by like this much.”

Cate Adair was gracious with Eva Longoria

Adair never made Longoria feel self-conscious about the wardrobe, although Longoria couldn’t help feeling that way herself. She appreciated Adair’s compassion and professionalism though.

“So she kept going, ‘Oh, OK, we’re just going to try something else. Hold on one second,’” Longoria said. “She’d get another dress and she goes, ‘Oh dear, OK. Well, we’re just going to go…’ She was so polite about it and I’d go, ‘Cate, I know, I know.’”