Eva Mendes clarifies agreement she made with Ryan Gosling on raising their daughters

Eva Mendes has shed light on the parenting agreement she made with husband Ryan Gosling.

In an interview with Glamour published on 29 April, the 50-year-old Hollywood star clarified previous comments she’d made about why she took a break from acting. During an appearance on the Today show back in March, Mendes said it was a “no-brainer” that she would take a step back from Hollywood while Gosling continued to pursue his acting career.

“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 at the time. “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.”

Now, speaking to Glamour, the Hitch star clarified that it wasn’t a “non-verbal agreement” that led her to work from home. Rather, the longtime couple had many deep conversations about balancing both their professional and family lives.

“For me… recently in an interview I said it was almost like non-verbal agreement Ryan and I had [to step back from acting]. That got… not twisted, but taken out of context because I meant it was almost a no-brainer. But there was actually obviously a lot of thought and conversation - especially on my end - of what I wanted to do with my life,” Mendes told Glamour. “It was very clear to me that I didn’t want to be away from the kids. Acting takes you on location for months. But I still wanted to work. So I had to get creative about what that work was going to be.”

She’s since gone on to pursue other business ventures, such as co-owning the women-founded sponge brand, Skura Style. Mendes explained that she’s “always loved cleaning” and never considered doing the dishes to be a “chore”. However, maintaining a tidy household has become more challenging now with the constant chaos of children. Mendes and Gosling - who have been together since 2011 - are parents to two daughters: Esmeralda, nine, and Amada, seven.

“It’s definitely giving up that idea that it’s always going to be clean. That’s just impossible with kids. I find it easier now at seven and nine, but when they were smaller, it was just impossible at times,” she said, when asked for her best advice on achieving a clean home. These days, Mendes explained that she engages her daughters in activities around the house so that their chores feel more like a “bonding experience” between them.

The Ghost Rider star also spoke candidly about the pressures of feeling like a “super mom,” and the high expectations that many mothers place on themselves to achieve the perfect work-life balance.

“I am really not okay with the whole ‘super mom’ thing that people assign certain mothers. Every mother is a super mom. Every mother is doing the best that they can,” Mendes said. “There’s certain areas I thrive in. I enjoy cleaning and keeping a clean house, but I’m a terrible cook.

“I really feel bad. I’m not one of those moms that’s making a meal every night and knows how to bake her own sourdough bread and knows how to… That wasn’t me during the pandemic, and it’s not me now,” she continued. “I have my strengths, and cooking isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mean I take them to the drive-through every day. That’s not what I’m saying. But I try to be nice to myself about what I’m not great at as a mom and as a person.”