Eva Mendes ‘Felt Lost’ Once Her Daughters Aged Out of Toddlerhood

Eva Mendes took a break from Hollywood to focus on raising her daughters with longtime partner Ryan Gosling . But now that the kids are growing up, she’s grappling with who she is.

During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show September 19, Mendes, 50, admitted that she “felt lost” once her girls Esmeralda, 10, and Amada, 8, reached middle childhood.

“I actually didn’t feel lost, I felt very clear,” Mendes told Drew Barrymore , 49, of initially becoming a mother. “But, then I felt lost, if that makes sense. Then when it was like the cliché of, ‘OK, who am I now that the kids can survive on their own?’”

She continued, “They’re only 8 and 10, but, you know what I mean, they don’t need me every second. It’s a little different.”

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Mendes added that she now enjoys being able to talk to her daughters “about anything” and feels “very fulfilled” in parenthood.

The children’s book author, who is currently promoting Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries , recently told Today that she chose to take a break from acting to spend more time with her children.

“I still worked, I just didn’t act because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away,” Mendes said in March, adding that she had a “non-verbal agreement” with Gosling, 43, that he would be the one to continue on with his on-screen career.

“He’s gonna work and I’m gonna work, I’m just gonna work here,” she explained of being home while the Barbie star took on more film roles.

While promoting The Fall Guy in April, Gosling said Mendes’ contributions to his craft are “endless.”

“She is with the girls and when she works, I stay home with the girls too. I couldn’t be here without her,” Gosling told Extra . “[She’s also] become the best acting coach I have ever had. It’s endless how much she helps me.”

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The notoriously private couple, who met on the set of 2012’s A Place Beyond the Pines , recently stepped out as a family at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for the women’s gymnastics uneven bars event.

Mendes shared a post on Instagram shortly after their appearance, noting that when she sees photographers her “wall goes up.” She did, however, appreciate that the NBC Olympics broadcast “didn’t cut away to the kids.”

“And most sites blurred their faces, so mama bear is happy about that,” she responded in the comments section.