National Basketball Association

Charting a storybook romance and unhappy ending

Published Nov. 18, 2010 4:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

It's a desperate situation, spurring lots of chatter and media coverage.

The fine romance seems over between ''Desperate Housewives'' star Eva Longoria Parker and her husband, Tony Parker, All-Star point guard for the San Antonio Spurs.

With the end apparently in sight for these fallen lovebirds, this is a fitting time to go back - way back, six long years - for a stroll down the red carpet known as memory lane.

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November 2004: Longoria and Parker meet after a Spurs game.

Jan. 24, 2005: The Portland Trail Blazers snap a losing streak with a surprising win over the NBA-leading Spurs, but Parker makes 20 points with seven assists, and Longoria, ''who is rumored to be dating Parker,'' is courtside, The Associated Press reports.

June 25, 2005: Spurs fans fill the banks of the San Antonio River to cheer the team for bringing home its third NBA title - and erupt at the sight of Parker and Longoria sharing a barge along the Riverwalk.

Dec. 24, 2005: A San Antonio police officer accuses Longoria and Parker of yelling profanities and insulting him after he asked them to move their car. The couple deny the allegations. Parker is cited for impeding traffic and failing to produce a valid Texas driver's license.

March 2006: Longoria tells Allure magazine that, while Parker is ''very sweet,'' it is she who is ''the experienced one. I'm the teacher, especially about love.'' Days later, she hits the entertainment-news shows to correct the record: ''When the lights are out, he's the teacher,'' she tells ''Extra'' and ''Access Hollywood.''

September 2006: The couple briefly split.

Nov. 29, 2006: The couple is engaged. ''Tony flew into Los Angeles last night after his game and surprised Eva at her home as she got off work,'' Longoria's publicist announces the next day.

Spring 2007: Tony Parker releases a rap album. A French rap album.

July 6, 2007: Longoria and Parker are wed at a civil ceremony in Paris, with the city's mayor officiating. Guests number about 40. (French law only recognizes civil marriage.)

July 7, 2007: The couple exchange vows again in a lavish Roman Catholic ceremony at Paris' Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church, frequented by French royalty in centuries past. Hundreds of fans gather outside, but their view of the glitterati in attendance is blocked by 10-foot-high wooden panels erected in front of the church.

September 2007: Parker and Longoria are among the chosen few named People magazine's best-dressed couples.

December 2007: Parker denies the published claims by a French model that she had an affair with him. He says he has never even met her. He sues the celebrity gossip website, which a few months later publicly apologizes, declaring it had been misled by the model.

Jan. 14, 2008: Longoria denies she's pregnant. ''I've just gained weight from being on strike,'' she tells E! Entertainment, referring to the Hollywood writers strike.

May 27, 2008: Longoria works at the Wendy's drive-thru in her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, to kick off a ''Wendy's Wonderful Kids'' charity event.

February 2009: In a Glamour magazine cover story, Longoria says, ''Tony and I would love to be together forever. But the only way you get to forever is one day at a time.''

March 26, 2009: Longoria tells Fox News that Parker is over her sex symbol status, after she makes it to Maxim's ''Hot 100'' celebs and E!'s ''Steamiest Southern Stars.'' She says at a TV Guide party to celebrate the ''Sexiest Stars 2009'' issue: ''He is so over it, he doesn't really care. He thinks I'm sexiest when I wake up in the morning and you got to marry the man who ... doesn't like the makeup and the gowns.''

June 2009: A security employee is accused of stealing an autographed Michael Jordan jersey from Parker's Texas home. The Chicago Bulls jersey, valued at $20,000, had been listed for sale on Craigslist, but is recovered.

October 2009: The couple shoots a London Fog ad together, photographed in romantic, sexy embraces.

Aug. 29, 2010: On the red carpet at the Emmys, Parker kisses Longoria not on the lips but on the forehead. Foreshadowing trouble?

Sept. 19, 2010: Longoria and Parker stroll hand and hand in Paris.

Oct. 15, 2010: They cuddle on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' and describe their dreamy trip to Croatia, where they spent their third anniversary. Parker had surprised her with his appearance on the show, but Longoria insists, ''He can't get anything by me.''

Nov. 17, 2010: Longoria files court papers to divorce Parker, citing irreconcilable differences.