Eva Longoria at the NCLR ALMA Awards nominee announcements at the Penninsula Hotel, Beverly Hills, California - 04.04.06 and PAZ VEGA at the premiere of ' Spanglish ', Los Angeles, California- 09.12.04

Both Longoria and EVA MENDES were competing with Vega for the role of housekeeper FLOR MORENA in the ADAM SANDLER movie, which the Spanish actress eventually won.

And, looking back, Longoria is thrilled - because she would have been working on that movie when auditions for Desperate Housewives took place.

She explains, "I met Eva Mendes on an audition for Spanglish and we both didn't get it, obviously, so when I ran into her a year or two later she said, 'Isn't it funny; if I had gotten Spanglish, I wouldn't have gotten HITCH.'

"If I had done Spanglish I wouldn't have done Desperate Housewives and so I believe everything is for a reason and everything is meant to be."