- Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling began dating in 2011 when they were filming the movie “The Place Beyond the Pines” together.
- They’ve maintained an extremely private relationship since and share two daughters, Esmeralda and Amada.
- However, the actors have elected not to share photos of their family on social media and rarely make public appearances together.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling have been together for nearly a decade, but they’ve gone out of their way to keep their relationship far from the public eye.
The couple has only appeared on the red carpet together while promoting their movie “The Place Beyond the Pines” in 2012, and Instagram users still won’t find a single photo of the duo on Mendes’ social media (Gosling doesn’t have a public account).
Although the pair’s romance has primarily flourished behind closed doors, they’ve proven that their relationship remains strong by issuing rare comments about their love for each other and their family.
Here’s everything we know about Gosling and Mendes’ romance – from being on-screen costars to becoming “helicopter parents” to two daughters.
September 2011: Gosling and Mendes hit it off while filming "The Place Beyond the Pines."
The actors spent time together while filming the 2012 drama, in which they played former lovers that shared a son.
Mendes and Gosling also spent time together off-set and were spotted together showing PDA while on a date in Disneyland.
"They were very playful. Eva was skipping around like a little girl… She would lean into him and she held his arm the entire time," a source told Us Weekly.
Another source added, "There's always been this strong chemistry between them… this was just a matter of time."
January 2012: They appeared together in Funny or Die's "Drunk History Christmas."
Mendes and Gosling wake up side-by-side in bed before Gosling proceeds to recite a poem in the video.
Jim Carrey also appears alongside the actors in the skit, playing Santa Claus.
May 2012: Mendes dodged questions about Gosling during an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
When Ellen DeGeneres brought up Gosling during the show, Mendes couldn't stop giggling and averted eye contact with the host.
When she playfully pretended not to personally know "Gosling," DeGeneres asked whether or not Mendes always calls him by his last name. The actress then put her head down in embarrassment and laughed, giving an early indication of how tight-lipped the duo would keep their relationship.
June 2012: Gosling brought Mendes to his mother's graduation ceremony.
An onlooker snapped a photo of Mendes and Gosling sitting right next to each other at the Brock University graduation ceremony in St. Catharines, Ontario, where the actor was celebrating his mother's commencement.
September 2012: They walked the red carpet at the premiere of "The Place Beyond the Pines."
Mendes and Gosling made their red carpet debut together, along with the rest of the cast, at the Toronto International Film Festival's premiere of "The Place Beyond the Pines."
March 2013: They made another appearance to promote the movie.
This time, they walked the red carpet at the New York City premiere of "The Place Beyond the Pines."
September 2013: Mendes called herself a "weirdo" when she talked about Gosling.
When asked about Gosling during an interview with The Edit, Mendes was at a loss for words.
"I'm sorry. I'm shutting down," she said, adding, "I'm such a weirdo. I literally lose my ability to speak - and you were doing so well."
February 2014: Mendes laughed off pregnancy rumors.
When asked about pregnancy speculations during an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the actress brushed them off.
"It's so ridiculous," she said, adding, "It all started because I didn't want to go through the scanners at the airport. You know those X-ray scanners, which are really creepy? They basically see you naked, right? And not only that, but there's a radiation aspect to it, so I always opt out."
July 2014: Sources confirmed that the couple was expecting their first child together.
Multiple outlets reported that Gosling and Mendes were parents-to-be. However, neither Gosling nor Mendes directly addressed the news.
September 2014: Mendes gave birth to the couple's first daughter.
Gosling and Mendes welcomed their first baby girl, multiple outlets confirmed. TMZ obtained the child's birth certificate and reported that her name was Esmeralda Amada.
During an interview with Violet Grey, Mendes explained the inspiration behind her daughter's name.
"We both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and just think it's a beautiful name. Her middle name is Amada, which was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish," she said.
Mendes also discussed the couple's decision to keep her child's life as private as possible.
"Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it's unfair but that's our reality. So Ryan and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that. It's such an intimate time for the mother, too," she said.
She continued, "I know that it seems all very innocuous when you're flipping through a tabloid at the doctor's office or see a photo of a pregnant lady online, but I find the media's 'bump watch' obsession to be both intrusive and stressful. So I made a decision to eject myself from it completely. I was like, 'Annnnd I'm out.'"
April 2015: Mendes starred in "Lost River," a film that Gosling directed and co-produced.
Mendes played a cabaret dancer in the 2015 film "Lost River," which was Gosling's feature film directorial debut. It marked the first time that the couple worked together after "The Place Beyond the Pines."
During a 2019 interview with Oprah Magazine, Mendes reminisced on her experience working with her partner.
"The two times we've collaborated, him and I, have been the two best experiences in my career. There's such special work in 'The Place Beyond the Pines.' We had known each other for a while already, so to work together was really exciting," she said.
Mendes continued, "And being in the film 'Lost River' was nothing short of a magical experience. I would love to either act opposite him again or be directed by him at some point. I just love working with him. In a career of 20+ years, to have my two most incredible creative experiences be with him, of course, I'd want a third."
December 2015: Gosling spoke about his daughter before adding that there's "nothing else" for him except for Mendes.
"This will be our first Christmas where Esmeralda is sort of taking it all in, so that's exciting," the actor said during an interview with Hello!, adding, "She's obsessed with the Hanson Christmas album! No disrespect to Hanson, they're very talented kids, but I think I've heard that record enough. I'm sure it will be on a loop this Christmas as well."
Gosling also gushed about Mendes during the interview, saying that there's "nothing else" out there for him.
"I know that I'm with the person I'm supposed to be with," he said, continuing to say that the only criteria he seeks in a woman is "that she's Eva Mendes. There's nothing else I'm looking for."
April 2016: They welcomed their second child.
TMZ reported that Mendes gave birth to her second daughter in Santa Monica, California. The actors named their second daughter Amada Lee, whose first name is the same as their eldest daughter's middle name.
During an interview with Latina, Mendes opened up about the couple's tie to the name.
"My grandmother's name is Amada, and Esmeralda Amada is the name of our oldest," she said, adding, "We had a few names picked out for our new baby, and when she was born, we didn't feel like those names were her."
And while some people may be surprised that Gosling and Mendes reused the name, the Cuban actress said that it's not abnormal in her culture.
"In true Latin fashion, we reuse names all the time. I actually told Ryan, 'This is common in Latin culture, so it wouldn't be crazy.'" she said.
January 2017: Gosling won a Golden Globe award and dedicated it to Mendes.
Gosling won best actor in a musical or comedy at the 2017 Golden Globes for his performance in "La La Land." Although Mendes didn't accompany Gosling to the ceremony, he dedicated the award to her.
"I would like to try to thank one person properly and say while I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I've ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer," he said during his acceptance speech.
Gosling continued, "If she hadn't have taken all that on so that I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me today. So sweetheart, thank you. To my daughters Amada and Esmeralda, I love you."
September 2017: They attended the SNL after-party after Gosling hosted the show.
After the actor hosted an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," Mendes stepped out to join him for the after-party in New York City.
June 2018: Gosling said that Mendes diagnosed a minor head injury he got on set.
During an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the actor spoke about filming the movie "First Man."
"They built this multi-axis trainer, which is something NASA designed just to help the astronauts prepare for the worst-case scenarios in space," he told Jimmy Kimmel, adding, "But it's this thing that kind of sends you a-- over teakettle. They would only do it for 20 minutes at a time or something, but in the movie, because we had to get a lot of shots, I was in it for, like, six to eight hours."
When he got home from shooting, Gosling said he was somewhat delirious.
"I was just hellbent on this idea that there were people in doughnut stores all around the world that were trying to charm their way into getting free doughnuts," he said, continuing, "She was so patient and listening. She was like, 'I think you might have brain damage. I think you should go to the hospital.'"
After being checked out, the actor said that he was diagnosed with a minor concussion.
September 2018: Mendes chatted about her family with Gosling and said she was "obsessed" with their kids.
"I'm just so obsessed with my kids that I don't want to leave them," Mendes told E! News, adding, "They're just still so little."
She also spoke about the importance of her family, admitting, "I don't feel like I have it balanced at all."
Mendes continued, "I kind of have been figuring it out as I'm going along and it's just important to have a support system. I have my family, I have Ryan's family and that's just like, invaluable to have family around supporting you."
April 2019: The actress said that she didn't think about having children until she met Gosling.
Mendes said that motherhood was the "the furthest thing from my mind" before meeting Gosling during an interview with Women's Health.
"Ryan Gosling happened," she explained, adding, "I mean, falling in love with him. Then it made sense for me to have…not kids, but his kids. It was very specific to him."
May 2019: She said that her daughters don't know that she and Gosling are famous.
"They are not aware. We are definitely just mom and dad to them, and we're trying to keep it that way as long as possible," she told Oprah Magazine, adding, "We are just mom and dad, so we are having fun just being that to them."
July 2019: Mendes and Gosling adopted a puppy together.
"Meet Lucho. The newest member of our family," Mendes wrote on Instagram, adding, "If you're looking for a fluffy family member, adoption is a great option."
Since adopting Lucho, Mendes has shared several photos of him on her Instagram.
October 2019: Mendes called herself and Gosling "helicopter parents."
The actress chatted about life as a mother during an episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," emphasizing how difficult it's been raising children.
"People are so sweet - they really try to warn you, prep you, when you're pregnant, but nobody can prep you. Nobody. And nobody told me it was gonna really be a job. And a job that I needed an incredible amount of skill for, in different areas," she said.
Grateful that she and Gosling see eye-to-eye on parenting, Mendes continued to describe their methodology.
"We're very controlling. I think what the term is - we're always laughing at these terms - I think we would be 'bulldozing parents,'" she said, adding, "The stakes are really high so yeah, I'm a helicopter parent. And then I heard the bulldozing and I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm probably a bulldozing parent too.'"
April 2020: The actress explained why she doesn't post photos of her family on social media.
After the actress shared a photo of one of her favorite paintings, one of her followers asked her why she never shares pictures of her family on social media.
"I have always had a clear boundary when it comes to my man and my kids. I'll talk about them of course, with limits, but I won't post pictures of our daily life. And since my children are still so little and don't understand what posting their image really means, I don't have their consent. And I won't post their image until they're old enough to give me consent," she replied.
The "Hitch" actress also said that she and Gosling have decided to keep their relationship between them, and in turn, off of social media.
"As far as Ryan and I, it just works for us this way, To stay private," she wrote.
May 2020: Mendes defended Gosling's parenting methods.
The actress said she was a "Tired Mama" after staying up late preparing for her daughter's birthday in an Instagram post.
At the end of her message, she wrote, "Here's to all you tired mamas...sending extra love."
Some of her followers criticized her, however, for seemingly assuming that women were children's caretakers rather than men.
Responding to one follower's comment, she explained, "Sorry, but it's mostly women who follow me on this page."
"I like to connect to the women. It's just my nature. I'm a girl's girl. Has absolutely nothing to do with 'stereotyping.' Sending love to you, to all the tired papas and all the tired caregivers from this tired mama," she wrote.
In another comment, she said, "So when I say I'm a 'tired mama' and want to connect to other 'tired mamas' it's not about excluding the fathers or other caregivers that do so much. It's just me connecting to other women but in no way does it de-value what papas do. And why I don't talk about Ryan and all the wonderful things he does as a father is because I keep that part private."
She went on to address people's remarks about Gosling after they said she seemed like a "single mother."
"I don't want to involve him or how he parents because I don't feel comfortable crossing that boundary that I have set for myself. I feel it's best that I continue to disclose what I'm comfortable with but not involve him or my kids too much," she said.
She added: "It's not about being cagey or weird, it's just about staying private in a public space. Does that make sense? Hope so. Because this is my honest answer and I really do love connecting to you women."