The actress explains how the two came to an 'unspoken agreement' when their daughters were born.
Eva Mendes has no regrets about putting a pause on her acting career for a much bigger role -- motherhood. During an appearance on the Today show, the actress, 50, opened up about her decision to focus on raising her children while her partner, Ryan Gosling, continued his acting career.
"It was like a no-brainer. [And I was like], I'm so lucky if I could have this time with my children," Mendes says of becoming a full-time mother. She and Gosling have two daughters, Esmeralda Amada Gosling, 9, and Amada Lee Gosling, 7.
Mendes notes that she still works but prefers not to act because "acting takes you on location. It takes you away."
"It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, 'OK, he's going to work and I'm going to work. I'm just going to work here,'" she adds. "He went and he did his job. He just happens to be really good at his job. And he did it and he came home."
Mendes and the 43-year-old Barbie star have been together since they met and fell in love while filming the 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines. While they tend to avoid PDA or even public appearances together, the former co-stars turned lovers aren't immune to gushing about one another.
Recalling their time together filming The Place Beyond the Pines, Mendes tells Today, "I have never experienced anything like that. The way he works, his commitment to his craft, how he wants to make everything as best as it could be, and that means making his co-stars as best as they could be... But unfortunately, or fortunately, there is only one Ryan. So I pretty much stopped just acting after that."
While Mendes might not be by Gosling's side on the red carpet, she doesn't hesitate to offer her partner support on social media.
The mother of two was Gosling's No. 1 supporter throughout awards season and following the release of Barbie. After he was announced as a nominee in the Best Supporting Actor category, she used her social media to shut down criticism over the nod.
And, the night before Gosling delivered an unforgettable rendition of "I'm Just Ken," Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt's Barbie hit, at the 96th annual Academy Awards earlier this month, the Hitch actress took to Instagram to give her man a shout-out.
In a photo shared from her Instagram Story, Mendes showed off a dressed-down look ahead of the all-out glamorous event, wearing high-waisted jeans, a casual button-down top and a jean jacket while posing in front of a dressing room adorned with Gosling's name on it.
"Siempre con mi hombre," the actress wrote over the photo presumably taken during Oscars rehearsals. She later shared a live photo of the moment, which was posted to her Instagram grid. She translated the message into English for her six million followers, writing, "always with my man."
Then, after Gosling's performance, Mendes took to Instagram to offer a celebratory post in honor of her man, urging him to hurry on home after the 2024 Oscars.
"You took Ken all the way to the Oscar's, RG. Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed. 💋," she captioned a fun shot, posing backstage with Gosling's pink blazer from the show.
When asked about the shot on the Today show, Mendes says she told her man to wrap it up "because that's what it's about. You go. You do your job the best you can and then you come home."
Watch Mendes' Today show interview below.
But Gosling isn't the only one who gets to go away! Following his viral performance at the 2024 Oscars, Mendes gave the three-time Oscar nominee a shout-out for his support when she jetted off to Italy last month.
In an Instagram post on March 14, the actress shared a clip of herself doing a runway walk while all dressed up. After crediting her glam squad for helping her get ready, she called out her "man" for "holding down the fort at home so I could live the Dolce Evita for a couple days."
In late February, Mendes shared a series of posts capturing her glamorous leopard look for the fashion event. "The real: so hot & hungry after the stunning @dolcegabbanashow," she captioned footage of herself taking off her gloves and boots and eating a banana in a car afterward.
See more from Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling's private romance below.
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