Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling had a mutual understanding that she would give up her acting career to stay home with their children.
“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,’” Mendes said on the “Today” show Tuesday of being a stay-at-home mother to their two daughters: Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7.
The “Hitch” actress, 50, said it was a “no-brainer” to put her Hollywood ambitions on hold so she could spend more time with their children.
“I’m so lucky,” she said of being able to “have this time with [her] children.”
Mendes also clarified that she still has a career but is just no longer acting since becoming a mom.
“I still worked, I just didn’t act because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away,” she shared.
Mendes said she “pretty much stopped acting” after she and her partner starred in their 2012 movie “The Place Beyond the Pines,” and reflected on working with him on the project.
“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 can be, and that means making his co-stars as best as they can be,” Mendes said of Gosling.
“But unfortunately — or fortunately — there is only one Ryan!’ she added.
Mendes also gushed over Gosling’s performance at the 2024 Oscars earlier this month where he performed his song from the “Barbie” movie, “I’m Just Ken.”
“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 said.
She then referenced the hilarious Instagram post she shared that evening when she told Gosling to “come home” and “put the kids to bed.”
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“Because that’s what it’s about,” she said. “You go, you do your job the best you can and then you come home.”
Mendes had been backstage ahead of the 96th Academy Awards to support Gosling, who was nominated for best supporting actor.
Gosling, 43, also revealed that their daughters attended his dress rehearsal and offered up some advice.
“It was great,” the “La La Land” star revealed at the SXSW festival. “It was so fun because they came to the dress rehearsal the day before and so they were in the front row. They gave me some tips and some notes, all great notes.”
The proud girl dad said that his daughters were a “huge part” in his experience with the Greta Gerwig-directed film starring Margot Robbie.
“It was my girls’ interest in Barbie and disinterest in Ken that got me into this in the first place,” he admitted, noting, “It was beautiful to have them there at the end.”
Mendes and the “Notebook” actor are known for being quite private about their relationship and have been together for more than a decade.
