They've been together for 12 years and are both Hollywood stars, but you'll have a hard time finding many pictures of Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes posing together. The two started their relationship around the time that they co-starred in the 2012 thriller The Place Beyond the Pines. And while they walked the red carpet together to promote the film, they haven't done it again in the years since. As Mendes explained in a recent social media post, they made that choice for for a specific reason.
This summer, Gosling will star as Ken in the highly anticipated film Barbie alongside Margot Robbie. When an Instagram follower said they were looking forward to seeing Mendes out and about with her partner around the release of the movie, she clarified that it wasn't going to happen. Read on to see what the Hitch star shared about her very private relationship.
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Mendes responded to a fan hoping for new red carpet photos.
Focus FeaturesOn April 6, Mendes posted a video of herself and Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines and reflected on their relationship in the caption.
"Magic is Real," she wrote. "We did not meet on set. The magic started way before but here’s a little magic captured on camera. Gracias to the increíble director Derek Cianfrance."
In the comments section, a fan who runs the account @gosling.mendes wrote, "I really hope Barbie will get through the Awards Season just to see you w Ryan. I know, I'm a selfish and probably I [sic] dreamer, but I will never stop to dream about it!!"
Mendes responded, "you’re the best! What a cool comment, thank you. But we don’t do those things together. Like these photos I’ve been posting, Im only comfortable posting because it’s already out there."
She explained why she's so against being photographed with him.
Sonia Recchia/Getty ImagesAnother fan, @heyolivejuice_, asked Mendes why she and Gosling don't feel comfortable posting new photos together. Mendes thanked the fan for their comment and wrote back, "By 'not comfortable,' I mean exposing our very private life that we value. I’m still dying to do another movie with him though… ♥️"
Mendes' last movie was 2014's Lost River, which was written and directed by Gosling.
The star also wanted to make sure fans knew that she and Gosling did pose for photos on the red carpet together while promoting The Place Beyond the Pines but not since. "[F]or those who may catch me in a 'lie' -we only were on the red carpet together once when promoting this film," she wrote.
But, her stance on professional photos doesn't mean that Mendes doesn't plan on supporting Gosling at his film premieres. For instance, E! News reported that in 2017, she attended the South by Southwest festival with Gosling when his movie Song to Song premiered. She just didn't pose for photos with him.
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She's similarly protective of their children.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSWIn March 2020, Mendes responded to another fan regarding glimpses into their lives. "My man and kids are private," Mendes wrote. "That's important to me so thanks for getting that."
Gosling and Mendes have two daughters together: Esmeralda, 8, and Amada, 6.
In April 2020, Mendes confirmed that she has a rule for when she'll—maybe—share photos of their children. "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," she wrote on Instagram. She also explained that she won't share photos of her children until they are old enough to give consent. "As far as Ryan and I, it just works for us this way, to stay private," she added.
They've even been coy about their relationship status.
Gosling and Mendes have kept their relationship so private that it's not even clear whether or not they got married—and if they did, when. In November 2022, Mendes referred to Gosling as her husband on the Australian show Today, as reported by Elle. Then, on another Australian show, The Kyle & Jackie O Show, Mendes was asked whether she had "secretly tied the knot."
"But who says we weren’t already?" Mendes responded to the marriage question. "I like to keep it all mysterious. I’m a very mysterious woman."
Mendes also mentioned the tattoo she had recently posted on Instagram that reads "de Gosling"—Spanish for "of Gosling" and is reminiscent of a Spanish naming custom.
"I got it years ago," Mendes said. "I posted a picture, and I’ve gotten a lot of funny questions."
Gosling has been similarly tight-lipped.
Featureflash Photo Agency / ShutterstockUnlike Mendes, Gosling does not use public social media accounts, so his rare comments about Mendes and their family have come through interviews and speeches.
For instance, in 2016 he spoke to GQabout being a father. "Eva's the dream mother, and they're dream babies, and it's like a dream that I'm having right now," he said. "I'm dreaming it all. So I feel so lucky.”
He also thanked Mendes when he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy in 2017.
"I just would like to try and thank one person properly and say that 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," the La La Land star said. "If she hadn’t have taken all that on so 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."
