Rabat – Morocco’s world-class football player, Achraf Hakimi, and his spouse, Spanish-Tunisian actress Hiba Abouk were chosen to feature on the October cover issue of Vogue Arabia, a benchmark American fashion magazine.
Describing them as an “Arab power” couple, Vogue Arabia explains that the couple’s “finding a balance between personal and professional obligations” was key behind selecting the young stars for the October cover.
Hakimi and Abouk are both successful in their respective careers. Abouk is currently planning to return to the big screen in a 2023 film project, while Hakimi only last year made a big career leap by joining French football club Paris-Saint-Germain.
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However, despite their hectic careers, the couple is happily married with two children. “As the celebrity status and scrutiny mount in equal measure, the couple acknowledges that finding a work-life balance requires sacrifice, and looks to each other to weather the storms,” according to the Vogue Arabia article announcing the news.
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The couple’s life, however, is not all roses. In May 2022, the couple came under public scrutiny as social media users criticized Abouk’s “revealing” dress on the red carpet of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, France.
Speaking to Vogue Arabia about the incident, Abouk said: “We don’t expect from a man the same things that we expect from a woman… it’s like that in the whole world, and in our Arab world too.”
Hakimi also shared with the lifestyle magazine the pressure that arises from leading a football career between two countries. “Here in Paris you play for the team of the city, but it’s not the same to play with the team of your country.”
“Millions and millions of people are going to support you because you play for them,” he said, adding that “It’s like you play for your grandfather and their grandfathers. You play for a lot of people, a lot of Moroccans.”
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