Actress Cara Santana celebrated a big night with her longtime boyfriend, Shannon Leto, by her side.
“It’s great,” Santana, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly of their relationship on Saturday, January 6, at the Art of Elysium HEAVEN Gala, which is an organization that aims to use art to create social change and help people in need. We’re here tonight celebrating a cause close to both of our hearts, which is art, so it’s amazing to be able to be here and celebrate and listen to the performances. I can’t wait to see what [honoree] Neil [Gaiman] has in store.”
Having been together for “three and a half” years, Santana told Us that the secret to finding a long-lasting romance is keeping your horizons open. “I think when you’re least expecting [it], it’ll happen,” she shared.
Though the Daughter of the Bride star didn’t divulge details about her love life, she appeared optimistic about her and Leto’s relationship progress. When asked whether she sees a future with the Thirty Seconds to Mars musician, 53, she said, “Of course!”
At Saturday’s gala, Santana was honored with the Spirit Award from The Art of Elysium’s CEO, Jennifer Howell. “I think art and service go hand in hand, and I know as a young girl, any time I read a book or watch a movie or hear a song, I would be transported out of my reality to whatever that world was,” she told Us of receiving the honor. “And so, I knew I wanted to not only be able to do that, but give that, so Art of Elysium is, like, the perfect organization for me.”
She further showed her appreciation for the organization via Instagram while sharing pics of her and Leto’s coordinating black and white ensembles. “Thank you @theartofelysium for all the work you do to bring healing to those in need through creativity and art,” she wrote on Sunday, January 7. “It’s been an honor to participate and even more to celebrate another heaven gala with so many people I love.”
Santana rocked a flowy, black silk gown with a white calla lily print at the event, which Shannon, who is the older brother of actor Jared Leto, complemented with a striped suit and graphic T-shirt.
A source exclusively confirmed to Us Weekly in August 2020 that Santana began dating Shannon following her messy split from ex Jesse Metcalfe. “They’ve split and are not together,” another source told Us earlier that year, adding, “He did not cheat on her.”
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The exes had dated for over a decade and got engaged in August 2016. Their January 2020 split came the same month Metcalfe, 45, sparked cheating rumors after photos leaked of him cozying up to other women. “[Cara] was 100 percent blindsided when the photos surfaced,” another insider shared with Us at the time.
Following the breakup, Metcalfe went on to date model Corin Jamie-Lee Clark from December 2020 to December 2022.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
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