Eva Mendes makes intimate confession about relationship with Ryan Gosling

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling may keep their love story firmly out of the spotlight, but that doesn’t stop them from being Hollywood favorites.

Ryan, 45, and Eva, 52, have been together for just about 15 years, so much so that the latter even bears her longtime partner’s name on her wrist.

Eva Mendes’ tribute to Ryan Gosling in ink

For years, the Hitch star has proudly shown off her “de Gosling” tattoo, a symbol of their love that has especially proven to be a sign that the couple have even tied the knot, translating to “of Gosling” in Spanish (although neither party has ever confirmed nor denied the news).

Over the weekend, Eva shared a new set of black and white photos of herself posing in a car, and in one, she proudly showed off her ink, to the delight of her fans.

When one commented on the post: “The tattoo, I can’t!” Eva responded in the comments: “It’s the only one I have, the only one I’ve ever wanted,” with a heart-eyed emoji.

Ryan and Eva’s relationship timeline

The couple first met in 2011, on the set of the film The Place Beyond the Pines. By September of that year, they’d started dating, making their relationship official on the press tour for the film the following year.

In 2014, they welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Esmeralda Amada. And in 2016, their second daughter was born, Amada Lee. Reports suggest the couple secretly tied the knot, even referring to each other as “husband” and “wife” at times, although they’ve refused to confirm as such.

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Since then, they’ve remained extremely private. Ryan eschews social media, and while the couple will often gush about each other and their family in interviews, they don’t make public appearances together.

The actress recently spoke with People about how she and Ryan spend their private time. “Yeah, we do have date nights regularly,” cheekily adding that they include “all the unmentionables.” She continued: “I don’t know what else to say. We like movies and we like going to the movies so we try to keep that alive.”

Why Eva and Ryan don’t do red carpet appearances together

In 2023, a fan commented on a clip Eva shared, in the midst of the hype building for Ryan’s turn in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie: “Eva, I want to to be honest w you, but I really hope Barbie will get through the awards season just to see you w Ryan. I know, I’m selfish and probably a dreamer, but I will never stop to dream about it!!”

Eva replied: “You’re the best! What a cool comment, thank you. But we don’t do those things together,” saying of the snaps she’d posted from their one and only film together: “Like these photos I’ve been posting, I’m only comfortable posting because it’s already out there.”

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She quickly added: “Oh wait – for those who may catch me in a ‘lie’ – we only were on the red carpet together once when promoting this film.”