In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Eva Mendes, 50, opened up about her approach to parenting and the household rules she enforces with her daughters, Esmeralda, 10, and Amada, 8, whom she shares with longtime partner Ryan Gosling.
Mendes, known for her role in Hitch, revealed that her children, who are homeschooled, are not allowed to use smartphones or social media.
“Putting my kid on the internet and being like, ‘Oh, search something,’ that to me is equivalent to telling her, ‘Oh, just go down the street in the middle of the night. You’ll be fine,’” she explained. “I know that sounds extreme, but that’s what I feel.”
The actress and author of Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries also discussed how she tries to help her daughters understand the privilege they’ve grown up with compared to her and Gosling’s upbringing.
“I explain to them what I didn’t have, what Ryan didn’t have when he was little, how hard we had to fight, the dark days of being paycheck to paycheck, and this and that, but they’ll never really know unless they experience that,” Mendes shared.
In addition to teaching her children about gratitude, Mendes encourages them to build self-esteem by helping out with household chores. However, she admitted she has concerns about the unintended lessons they may be learning from her.
“I still have all this anxiety and I see myself passing it on to my children,” she said. “Subconsciously I can’t imagine what they’re inheriting from me that I don’t want them to inherit from me.”
Reflecting on her own upbringing, Mendes credited her late brother, Juan Carlos, who passed away in 2016, for helping her stay on the right path as a teenager.
“He’d say, ‘If I ever see you out there with a guy or smoking, I’ll f–king kick his ass and take you to school every day,’” she recalled. “By sheer fear I was a good kid.”
Mendes and Gosling have been romantically linked since meeting on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011. During the interview, she expressed her appreciation for how Gosling makes her feel attractive in her 50s.
“I feel really f–king sexy at times,” she said. “The way my man looks at me is just … at times I’m like, oh my God. That might not sit well with people, but so much of how I feel is a reflection of what he’s giving me.”
Mendes has stepped back from her acting career to focus on raising their children, a decision she described as the “easiest” she’s ever made.
In August 2024, the family of four made a rare public appearance at the Paris Olympics, enjoying time together at the international event.
