Who was Gala’s first husband before she married Salvador Dalí?

Gala’s first husband was the French poet Paul Éluard.

Gala and Éluard married in 1917 and became part of the European avant-garde circle surrounding Dada and Surrealism. Their relationship connected Gala with artists and writers who would later become important figures in Dalí’s world.

Gala met Dalí in 1929 while she was visiting Cadaqués with Éluard and others. Although she and Éluard had a daughter, Cécile, Gala eventually left Éluard and became Dalí’s lifelong companion. Dalí and Gala married in a civil ceremony in 1934 and later held a Catholic ceremony in 1958. Éluard should not be confused with André Breton, who was a leading theorist of Surrealism but not Gala’s first husband.