He might be just Ken in Barbieland, but to Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling is so much more.
Though Mendes didn’t walk the red carpet at the 2024 Oscars with Gosling, she publicly supported him on social media, giving a rare glimpse into their private romance. After his show-stopping performance of “I’m Just Ken,” she also referenced their two daughters in a sweet Instagram post.
“You took Ken all the way to the Oscar’s, RG,” she wrote on Instagram. “Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed. 💋.”
The pair has been together since they met and fell in love while filming the 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines, and while they tend to avoid PDA or even appearing in public together, the former co-stars-turned-lovers aren’t immune to gushing about one another.
Mendes has opened up about leaving Hollywood behind to raise her and Gosling’s two daughters, Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7, and even shared in 2020 that she’d rather be “home with my man than anywhere else in the world.”
Here’s what the real-life couple has had to say about each other through the years:
Repping Their Love
For the premiere of Barbie, Gosling wore an “E” initial necklace in the Barbie logo font, and gushed about his longtime partner and their kids while speaking with ET.
“They’ve seen a lot pieces of [the film], and helped me a lot with it,” Gosling shared. “They were a huge inspiration for me.”
Weeks earlier, Mendes sported a T-shirt with Gosling as Ken on it for an Instagram post.
“Got that real big Kenergy,” she wrote. “Coz girls is players too.”
Acting Praise
Mendes couldn’t help but gush about her man amid his recent accolades for his role as Ken in Barbie. Posting a throwback pic of herself and Gosling together on Instagram in July 2023, Mendes wrote, “Mi Hombre. Mi Vida…To say he’s the greatest actor I’ve ever worked with is an understatement.”
Loving the Kenergy
Long before the Barbie movie was released in July 2023, Mendes was gushing about her man’s Ken look during a June 2022 appearance on The Talk.
“First of all, I saw the photo and the 14-year-old in me was like, ‘Ahh,’ but it’s a funny photo and he’s trying to be funny, so, it worked on all levels,” Mendes said at the time.
Gosling was grateful for Mendes’ support, telling ET the next month, “I love it. I love that she’s got love for Ken. It means a lot to me.”
Dreams of Kids
Gosling opened up about when he knew he wanted to have kids with Mendes while speaking with GQ in May 2023.
“I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her,” he shared. “And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”
The GQ writer shared that Gosling aims to shoot just one movie per year, as he brings his family along on location. He and Mendes do not have a nanny and prefer to spend most of their time at home.
“I would never want to go back, you know?” Gosling said of his life before children. “I’m glad I didn’t have control over my destiny in that way, because it was so much better than I ever had dreamed for myself.”
When it comes to parenting, Gosling praised Mendes for helping steer the ship whenever he’s unsure about what to do.
“I just lean on Eva,” he said. “She knows what’s important, always. She just somehow knows. So if ever I’m in my head about it, I just ask her.”
Husband?
Though they’ve never clarified their exact marital status, Mendes referred to Gosling as her “husband” while appearing on Australia’s Today show in November 2022.
“I’m loving it here… Everybody’s amazing. Seriously, everybody’s welcoming us. It’s been so beautiful,” Mendes said. “My husband Ryan is here… Our children are here. We’re having the best time.”
Mendes’ comment came around the same time that she sparked marriage rumors with Gosling thanks to her new tattoo. The fresh ink reads “de Gosling,” which fans took to mean “of Gosling,” with some believing that it hints that a wedding had taken place.
Parenting Inspiration
Mendes opened up to Hoda Kotb in May 2022 about what made her want to have kids with Gosling in the first place.
“I met Ryan Gosling and I fell in love with Ryan Gosling, and then I was like, ‘Oh right, I want your babies,'” Mendes quipped. “Consciously, I did want to wait until I was a little bit older… as a woman I just wasn’t ready and it’s just such a personal choice… I was so in love, and I was like, ‘Oh right, I want to create life with you.’ And it’s funny because I feel that parenting is the most creative thing I’ve ever done.”
Falling for Each Other
While celebrating the 10-year anniversary of The Place Beyond the Pines, Mendes reflected on filming the movie that led her to fall for her long-term love.
“Magic is Real. We did not meet on set. The magic started way before,” Mendes wrote of herself and Gosling, “but here’s a little magic captured on camera. Gracias to the incredible director Derek Cianfrance.”
Staying Out of the Public Eye Works for Them
In April 2020, Mendes opened up about her decision not to post about her “immediate family” on Instagram.
“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,” Mendes explained. “And since my children are still so little and don’t understand what posting their image really means, I don’t have their consent. And I won’t post their image until they’re old enough to give me consent.”
“As far as Ryan and I, it just works for us this way, to stay private,” she added.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
One fan’s suggestion to “tell Ryan to get you out more” prompted a reply from Mendes on Instagram in November 2020.
“No thank you, I’m good. Rather be home with my man than anywhere else in the world,” Mendes said.
The actress also shared in that post that it’s been “at least” 15 years since she’s glamorously frolicked on the beach like she did in the pic — but she’s just fine with that. “Haven’t seen a beach this year. Haven’t been on a run this year,” she confessed, adding a heart emoji.
Ryan Is an “Amazing” Cook
Gosling is a man of many talents, Mendes revealed on Instagram in February 2020.
“Ryan is an amazing chef AND baker. For reals. Incredible. No joke,” she revealed, replying to a fan’s questions about her and Gosling’s cooking skills. “I’m not sure that what I do is cooking. It’s more like steaming veggies and juicing and making rice. He really cooks. I survive. ❤️.”
Mendes echoed that statement while speaking with ET weeks later.
“He’s amazing in the kitchen. Amazing,” she insisted.
Ryan Made Eva Want Kids
In an interview with Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa in November 2020, Mendes said she “never wanted babies” until she fell in love with Gosling.
Mendes began by explaining that she would “never want to send the wrong message to young women” about putting one’s career on hold, adding that it’s “not an either-or situation.”
“I was lucky enough to work my bum off for 20 years,” she continued. “I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby. I think I was 42 for the second one, so it worked out in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family.”
Eva Considers the Parenting Stakes “Really High”
There’s a reason Mendes commits herself so fully to motherhood. As she explained to Kelly Clarkson in October 2019, she considers the stakes of raising her kids the right way “really high.”
“We’re very controlling,” Mendes said of her and Gosling’s parenting styles. “I think what the term is, we’re always laughing at these terms, I think we would be ‘bulldozing parents.'”
“I heard of the term helicopter parenting,” she continued. “And I’m like, well, what else are we supposed to do? They’re, like, this big, we have to be on top of them every second…. The stakes are really high. So yeah, I’m a helicopter parent. And then I heard the bulldozing and I’m like, ‘Ooh, yeah, I’m probably a bulldozing parent too.'”
“People are so sweet. They really try to warn you, prep you, when you’re pregnant, but nobody can prep you. Nobody,” she said. “And nobody told me it was gonna really be a job. And a job that I needed an incredible amount of skill for, in different areas.”
Awards Show Appreciation
Gosling publicly spoke about his romance with Mendes while accepting the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy award for La La Land at the Golden Globes in 2017.
The actor spoke lovingly about Mendes, their two young daughters and Mendes’ late brother, Juan Carlos Mendez, who died of throat cancer at the age of 53 in April 2016.
“You don’t get to be up here without standing on the shoulders of a mountain of people. There is no time to thank everyone, but I just want to try and thank one person properly and say that while I was singing and dancing and playing piano and 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,” Gosling said, seemingly trying to contain his emotions.
“If she hadn’t taken all of that on so that I could have this experience, it surely would be somebody else up here today,” he added. “So sweetheart, thank you.”
Eva Claps Back at Critics in Support of Her Man
After Gosling scored his third Oscar nomination for his performance as Ken in Barbie, the actress took to Instagram to celebrate him and clap back at the critics.
“So proud of my man,” Mendes captioned the Instagram post dedicated to her partner. “So much hate when he took on this role. So many people trying to shame him for doing it. Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to Oscars.”
She added: “So beyond proud to be this Ken’s Barbie.”
Gosling’s Barbie co-star, America Ferrera, who also scored a nod of her own for Best Supporting Actress, quickly chimed in in the comments, responding to Mendes, “👏👏👏 He is brilliant as Ken! Pulled off a triple somersault performance! We’re so lucky it was him and I’m so grateful for the way he showed up with his super stardom, and continues to show up to support all the women in this process!! He is a class act and insanely deserving and talented.”
Bringing Kenergy to the Oscars
Ahead of Gosling’s performance at the 96th Academy Awards, Mendes took to Instagram to show her support for the nominee who would go on to sing his Oscar-nominated song, “I’m Just Ken,” during the broadcast.
In an Instagram Story, Mendes showed off her dressed-down look ahead of the all-out glamorous event, wearing high-waisted jeans, a casual button-down top and a jean jacket while posing in front of a dressing room adorned with Gosling’s name on it.
“Siempre con mi hombre,” the Hitch actress wrote over the photo. She later shared a live photo of the moment, which was posted to her Instagram grid, translating the message into English for her 6 million followers, writing, “always with my man.”
Gosling delivered an unforgettable rendition of Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt’s Barbie hit with the help of more than a dozen backup singers and dancers, guest appearances by Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, as well as several of the other Kens from Barbie — including Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans and Simu Liu.
The moment, down to the all-pink outfit, appeared to pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
At the end of the night, the devoted wife, mom and actress congratulated her man on his show-stopping performance and shared a hilarious photo in his awards-day outfit, wearing his pink bedazzled blazer, black cowboy hat and sunglasses.
“You took Ken all the way to the Oscar’s, RG,” she wrote. “Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed. 💋.”
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