Longoria, who played Gabrielle Solis in the series, looked back at the time when Huffman stood up for her when she was bullied at work as she wrote a letter to support Huffman amid the US college admissions scandal, reports dailymail.co.uk.
"Felicity was the first one to take me under her wing. From the first table read of the script, she noticed me sitting alone, scared and unsure of where to and what to do. Her gentle character and kind heart immediately opened up to me. She approached me, introduced herself and said, 'Don't be scared, we will get through this together', as she sat down beside me and never left my side since that day.
"I dreaded the days I had to work with that person (I was being bullied by) because it was pure torture," said the actress, without naming the bully.
Huffman starred as Lynette Scavo in "Desperate Housewives".
Longoria continued: "Until one day, Felicity told the bully 'enough' and it all stopped. Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mentioned the abuse to anyone. I know I would not have survived those 10 years if it wasn't for the friendship of Felicity."
Longoria made the revelation in a letter she penned to the judge as part of the case to secure Huffman a lower sentence after she admitted to paying money to a scheme to secure a top university spot for her daughter.
Longoria also claimed that she was the "lowest paid actor" on "Desperate Housewives", and Huffman supported her during the contract negotiations.
"That did not go over too well with the others. But Felicity stood up for me, saying it was fair because the success of the show depended on all of us, not one of us. The fight lasted weeks, but Felicity held strong and convinced everyone this was the right thing to do," Longoria wrote.
( With inputs from IANS )