Eva Mendes is opening up about her marriage to Ryan Gosling and how motherhood changed her life in a new interview with Women's Health magazine.
The 45-year-old actress is the cover star of the May issue, where she dishes on what it's like to be a mother of two.
"We're just starting to get out of survival mode," Eva says. It's been almost five years since the actress and her hubby welcomed their first child together, Esmeralda, before quickly welcoming their second daughter, Amada, a year and a half later. Since then, their life has turned into a frenzy of diapers, play dates and such, but the Hitch star says she is "more than happy" to be a mom.
Although, she admits it isn't easy to raise two toddlers, adding,"My heart goes out to women who do this alone." She explains that she and Ryan have an "amazing support group" that comprises her mom, his mom, and both their sisters, who help raise their two kids.
In retrospect, Eva claims she never thought she would be a mother, that is, until she met and fell in love with Ryan.
"It was the furthest thing from my mind," she admits. "Ryan Gosling happened. 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."
The Ghost Rider actress also talks about shifting her focus from Hollywood to her family and parenting. "I felt a lack of ambition if I can be honest," the mom says about her work. "I feel more ambitious in the home right now than I do in the workplace."
She says motherhood is a constant learning experience and her kids are always challenging her in so many ways. "I have to rise up, and hopefully, most of the time I do, but sometimes it's definitely maddening."
Eva sees raising kids as a high profile celebrity couple as a challenge, but shares that she plans to instill appreciation in her kids by shielding her kids from her work and just being "Mom."
"It's definitely a concern," she shares. "Not only are we in the industry, but the whole fame component is super scary when you try to raise your kids." Eva confesses that she doesn't even let her kids see how much "attention" she puts into how she dresses and gets ready for work. "The way I keep it normal is by not letting them see me in these situations. I'm just Mom."