Eva Mendes Says Ryan Gosling’s Date Nights Leave Nothing Off-Limits — Even the Unmentionables

Eva Mendes just gave a rare peek at what date night looks like with Ryan Gosling, and yes, it sounds like two movie people trying to keep the movie-magic part of their relationship alive without turning it into a spectacle.

Date nights, low-key by design

In a new chat published Friday, April 17, by People, Mendes, 52, said she and Gosling, 45, go out regularly. She joked their nights out include the unmentionables, but the headline here is simple: they still love going to the movies and make a point to keep that part of their life going.

When they do step out, it is not a paparazzi scavenger hunt. Mendes said fans are usually cool if they are spotted, and she made it clear they know how to avoid the spotlight when they want to. If you want attention, there are places that will give it to you. If you do not, you pick different spots. They pick the latter.

How they got here

• August 2011: They meet filming The Place Beyond the Pines.
• September 2011: Spotted at Disneyland together; dating rumors kick in.
• Late 2011: Spend Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve together.
• September 2012: First red carpet appearance as a couple.
• September 2014: Welcome daughter Esmeralda.
• April 2016: Welcome daughter Amada.

The privacy rulebook (and why they stick to it)

The two have kept their relationship and family life pretty locked down. Mendes laid out the boundaries in a 2020 Instagram post (since deleted), explaining that she will talk about her partner and kids within limits, but she does not share day-to-day photos. The reason is consent: the kids are little, they do not grasp what posting their image means, so their faces stay offline until they are old enough to decide for themselves.

She doubled down again in 2021 when a fan asked for more Gosling content on her feed. The only shots she will share are throwbacks to things that already exist publicly, like movie stills. Otherwise: her man and her kids are private. Full stop.

Gosling, in his own words

Gosling does not talk about their relationship often, but when he does, it is thoughtful. In a 2023 GQ cover story, he corrected a line that got oversimplified over the years about not thinking about kids until Mendes was pregnant. The truth, as he put it, is that he was not even considering kids before he met her — and then everything shifted.

"After I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her."

He also said there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where they were pretending to be a family on camera and he did not want it to be pretend anymore. That is a pretty specific behind-the-scenes spark for a real relationship. And when it comes to parenting, he says he leans on Mendes: she knows what matters, and when he is overthinking, he asks her.

One more industry footnote

After Pines, Mendes appeared in Gosling’s 2014 directorial debut, Lost River. They have kept their work-life crossover to a minimum since, which tracks with the rest of their keep-it-private approach.

Bottom line: they still do the simple things — go to the movies, pick their spots, keep their family out of the feed — and seem perfectly happy letting the rest of us wonder how they pull it off. Honestly, that part might be the secret.