Salma Hayek feared she was carrying child with Down syndrome

New York, May 5 (ANI): Salma Hayek's husband Francois-Henri Pinault has revealed in court that the actress while pregnant with daughter Valentina, feared that she was carrying a child with Down syndrome.

Hayek's billionaire husband revealed his wife's up-till-now private agony on Friday while testifying during his high stakes court battle over child support with supermodel Linda Evangelista.

"She was having a very difficult pregnancy," the New York Daily quoted Pinault as saying.

"In fact, we were told the baby had Down syndrome until late May 2007," he said.

The 49-year-old businessman, who got Evangelista pregnant during a four-month affair before he married Hayek, was explaining in court the complicated timing.

"I asked Linda to delay the legal recognition process (of son Augustin) until after the birth of Valentina," he said.

"It was a very difficult pregnancy. She almost lost the baby."

On being asked by Evangelista's lawyer whether she agreed, Pinault answered, "Yes."

"Were you grateful?" asked attorney William Beslow.

"Yes," the Frenchman replied.

The 45-year-old actress was not in the courtroom to hear her ordeal laid bare as Evangelista presses Pinault to cough up as much as 46,000 dollars-a-month in child support for 5-year-old Augustin.

Valentina was born syndrome-free and healthy in Sept. 2007, almost a year after Augustin.

The voluptuous actress, who became a mom at the age of 41, has spoken in the past about her difficult pregnancy, revealing that she suffered from gestational diabetes.

But the frightening Down syndrome warning, which has prompted some parents to terminate their pregnancies, had not been disclosed.

Evangelista, one of the world's most famous faces, took the stand in Manhattan Family Court later on Friday, dressed to do battle in a white pencil skirt and python Christian Louboutin stilettos paired with a matching cream-colored Chanel bag.

She also wore a slate-grey linen blouson jacket along with the same double cross pendant she wore the day before.

On Thursday, her lawyer claimed Pinault told Evangelista to get an abortion when she told him she was pregnant, a claim Pinault's people vehmently denied.

Pinault also suggested that Evangelista might have "taken steps" to get pregnant and his lawyer called the supermodel's decision to take him to court "a classic case of someone trying to bootstrap herself into disguised alimony."

The 46-year-old model who has graced more than 600 magazine magazines during her modelling career, says her son needs armed bodyguards and a round-the-clock nanny.

She also wants Pinault to provide their son a home on par with the 12 million dollars California mansion he put in a trust for his now 4-year-old Valentina.

While Evangelista is said to be worth 8 million dollars, Pinault is the heir to an 11.5 billion dollars family estate and presides over a fashion empire.

Pinault, also has two other children from a previous marriage. (ANI)