Hilaria Baldwin wanted to be seen as Spanish says ex-dance partner

Hilaria Baldwin, wife of famed actor Alec Baldwin, has faced controversy in recent days after it was discovered that she has faked being Spanish for over a decade.

Now her ex-dance partners Alexander Rechits said that she always wanted to be perceived as Spanish, Page Six reports.

"I understand why she did it," Rechits told an interviewer. "It was always her desire to be considered Spanish."

"She had roots in Spain, her brother lived there, she visited there a lot," Rechits continued. Hilaria's parents currently reside in Mallorca and the family has vacationed to Spain multiple times. Hilaria, however, has no Spanish heritage.

Hilaria has even gone as far as to fake a Spanish accent on occasion, she told publications that she was born in Mallorca, which was also listed on her website until she recently changed it, and she has been known to wear traditional Spanish costumes at events.

She admitted on Monday that her birth name is Hillary, not Hilaria, that she is a "white girl" born and raised in Boston, and that she went to school in Massachusetts.