Ryan Gosling Talks Eva Mendes Relationship & Kids

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling'The Place Beyond The Pines' film premiere, Toronto International Film Festival, Canada - 07 Sep 2012

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes spend time in London With Daughters Esmeralda and Amada, they went shopping to a book store and a art shop. **SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS*** Please pixelate children's faces before publication.***. 29 Mar 2022 Pictured: Ryan Gosling Eva Mendes. Photo credit: MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA843099_044.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]

While Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes generally keep their relationship out of the public eye, Ryan opened up about their family in a rare new interview with GQ magazine. The actor met Eva on the set of The Place Beyond The Pines in 2011, and they went on to have two daughters together. He explained that his four-year break from acting from 2018 until 2022 was so that he could “spend as much time with [them]” as he could.

During the early part of his GQ interview, Ryan said he didn’t envision himself as a father until the moment that Eva told him she was pregnant. “I would never want to go back, you know?” he added. “I’m glad I didn’t have any control over my destiny in that way, because it was so much better than I had ever dreamed for myself.”

ryan goslin eva mendes — Ryan and Eva at ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ premiere. (Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock)

However, as the interview went on, Ryan circled back to clarify. “I didn’t want to overshare, but now I also don’t want to misrepresent,” he explained. “I mean, it’s true, I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her. But after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her.”

In The Place Beyond The Pines, Ryan and Eva were “pretending to be a family,” and once filming wrapped, the actor realized that he “didn’t want it to be pretend anymore.” He said, “I realized this would be a life that I would be really lucky to have.” The pair’s first daughter, Esmeralda, was born in 2014, followed by Amada in 2016.

ryan gosling — Ryan Gosling on the cover of ‘GQ.’ (Gregory Harris/GQ)

“I just lean on Eva [when it comes to parenting],” Ryan admitted. “She knows what’s important, always. She just somehow knows. So if I’m ever in my head about it, I just ask her.” Ryan and Eva raise their daughters without a nanny. He also said that it wasn’t until after he and Eva got together that he realized that he was “looking” for her. “It all makes sense now,” Ryan concluded.

Back in April, Eva explained why she and Ryan have chosen to keep their relationship private. The two have not walked a red carpet together since they promoted The Place Beyond The Pines in 2012, and Eva said it’s because they’re “not comfortable exposing [their] very private life that [they] value.” However, she added that she’s “still dying” to star in another movie with Ryan. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens!