This awards season brought a lot of attention to Eva Mendes. Eva and her man, Ryan Gosling, have a longstanding policy of not walking red carpets together. A lot of people were hoping that Ryan’s Supporting Actor nomination and “I’m Just Ken” performance would inspire them to make an exception, but they held to their convictions (Eva and their daughters did attend a dress rehearsal, though!). A source explained after the Oscars that Eva doesn’t do red carpets with Ryan because, quite frankly, Eva “still sees it as a job.”
There’s been a lot of renewed interest in Eva, though! There’s a lot of interest in what she’s up to now and whether or not she’s quit acting for good. Back in 2022, Eva had explained via Instagram that she’d never actually quit acting, but instead was tired of being offered “stereotypical roles” and wanted to pursue business interests that would also allow her to be a SAHM for her and Ryan’s two daughters, Esmeralda, nine, and Amada, seven. Earlier this week, Eva did an interview with the Today show and elaborated on the topic a little bit further.
You may have noticed that we haven’t seen Eva Mendes act in anything in, well, quite some time. And she’s finally explained why. In an interview with Today, Mendes said she and husband Ryan Gosling, with whom she has two daughters, had a sort of “nonverbal agreement” that she would stop acting in order to spend more time with their kids.
“It was like a no-brainer,” the actor said. “I’m so lucky if I can have this time with my children.” Because with acting, Mendes explained, you have to travel to be on location all the time, which necessarily takes you away from your kids. “I still worked; I just didn’t act.”
“It was almost just like a nonverbal agreement,” she said. “It was like, ‘Okay, he’s going to work and I’m going to work—I’m just going to work here.’” In fact, the last movie Eva Mendes acted in was Lost River in 2014, which was, perhaps not coincidentally, written and directed by Gosling.
Mendes and Gosling first met on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011, and welcomed their daughters Esmeralda and Amada in 2014 and 2016, respectively. “On a personal level, I think about time more than I used to. I have two kids and they’re growing up fast,” Gosling told GQ in 2021. “For my first Father’s Day, Eva gave me a watch. The brand doesn’t matter. The symbol was what mattered. It meant you’re on the clock now.”
All of this makes total sense. I think a lot of parents struggle with what to do when they have kids. On one hand, daycare is hella expensive and not everyone has family that can watch their babies during the day. On the other hand, is one parent able to switch gears or even put their career on hold to stay at home? I think it’s great that Eva and Ryan were on the same page and recognize how fortunate they are to be in a position to easily make that decision. I didn’t realize until I started following her on Instagram a few months ago, but Eva has been really busy working on business projects over the last few years. I used to have a few of the dresses from her New York & Co. line back in the day, but I had no idea that she’s co-owner of a kitchen cleaning line called Skura Style, has designed jewelry for Cast Jewelry, and even had a cameo in a Bluey episode. She may not be on the big screen anymore, but she’s definitely been keeping busy. Oh, and in the interview, Eva also apparently did give a caveat that there’s one project that would “bring her back with a vengeance.” I’m dying to know what that project is. Any and all speculation and guesses are welcome.
Photos credit Backgrid, Getty and via Instagram
I respect everyone’s personal decisions but I HATE that these are so often “nonverbal agreements”. This gendered default is why I never had kids even though I could have. The assumption that I would stay home and the man go make the money made my blood boil.
Having a VERY explicitly verbal agreement was a non-negotiable for me, alas many men/couples prefer this antiquated default.
And don’t come at me with “it’s their decision”. YES it is! I just don’t like the societal foundation upon which these decisions are made where if there was a reversal of genders everyone would be all up in arms and similarly if she actually wanted to continue making movies or work outside the home.
This! The non-verbal part really stuck out to me and completely changes the situation. It needs to be a verbal discussion and agreement, and an understanding that it can change over time as well. I’ve had many friends that were stay at home for the first few years, but then wanted to go back to work and some of the husbands were pissed because of the “original agreement”.
I like Eva (I also used to like her when she still made movies), but let’s be honest, unfortunately, Hollywood isn’t necessarily easy for women when they are no longer a certain age. This reminds me (I’m sorry) of Gwyneth a few years back complaining of no longer getting good offers. Gwyneth grew up in an acting/Film business family and is surprised that Hollywood is not kind about age?
Gwyneth assumed she’d be different because she’s Gwyneth.
Paltrow is always so irritatingly anemic in every role.
Biopic of Raquel Welch. She’d be perfect. That’s the project that would bring her back to acting. Or Eva Gardner.
YES! A biopic of Raquel Welch… or Sophia Loren.
Yes and yes.
Is there market demand for an Eva Mendes vehicle? I’m not sure there is, unfortunately. But she has other businesses; that’s great!
I miss Eva because she is a great comedic actress.
She sounds well-rounded smart person who can do many things. I am sure that she had it even harder being a Latina woman and getting good roles and diversify. Age is just part of the story. I have heard her speak of discrimination and typecasting and that sucks. She sounds very intelligent in interviews.
I am sad however when I see her interviewed now the top of her face seems very full w filler and has no movement especially around eyes, cheeks. She is stunning and she would age beautifully naturally. So much pressure for her as a former actress and model.
Her dresses were really beautiful.
I don’t know how profitable her business ventures are, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes more money from them than she would from acting.
If spending more time with her kids is what she wanted, then good for her. I always thought that I would want to stay home so was very surprised when I missed work when my first child was a baby. Could have had longer with her though, because the American maternity entitlement is crap. She had children when she was in her late 30s or early 40s so maybe she felt like it was a good time to take a break and she could certainly afford to do so.
I didn’t realize that Gosling wrote and directed. I read that he’s starting a production company. Maybe when the time is right, they’ll work on something together again.
lots of people are finding the idea of working flexibly (from home, part-time, etc) really appealing nowadays, especially since covid. i completely understand this.
many women and even men want to figure out how they can spend as much time with their loved ones as they can while earning a living, without burning out.
for eva, her career was never red hot anyway, and had practically stalled by the time she bowed out, so i get her choice to exit hollywood. i do respect that she keeps busy, still, and that she quietly made her choice and professional transition without fuss, instead of becoming one of those people who constantly complain about how hard it is to ‘juggle’ roles.
btw, anyone who’s a mother is, in fact, a ‘full-time’ mum. it’s the only role in the world from which noone can ever resign or retire. 🙂
Thank you for saying what I immediately thought, taris. The term “full-time mom” is so aggravating to me. I completely resent anyone insinuating that a working mother is anything less than a full-time mom. We’re just doing two jobs at once – we are no less moms than the SAHMs.