Red carpet hell: When ex-lover Penelope met Javier

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Last night, at the ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ premiere in Los Angeles, A-list stood for ‘awkward.’ Back when the Woody Allen comedy was being filmed, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem were a blissful couple. The story went that they originally met in 1992 in their native Spain and had always been friends. But when the movie premiered at Cannes this past May, Bardem was no where to be seen.

Last night, Bardem clearly kept his distance from Cruz on the red carpet. That has to suck for both of them--not to mention the fact that it’s hard to promote a movie when your ex is just five yards away. And in this case, both of them look awesome. But what I love is that fiery Salma Hayek--BFF of Cruz--showed up and clearly, lent support. It looks like Bardem could have used a pal too.

photos: Getty Images