Eva Mendes is getting candid.
In the newest issue of Latina magazine, the actress is opening up about two significant events in her life- the death of her brother, Carlos Mendez, in April, and the birth of her second child, Amada Lee Gosling, just one month later in May.
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Mendes’ brother passed away from cancer, and the actress revealed that his death brought their family closer together.
“Losing my brother brought our family closer, and we were already close to begin with,” she said. “So, to just see everybody be there for one another and show up, I feel so lucky to have them.”
Mendes also revealed that her brother’s funeral service was held just the same week she gave birth to her new baby girl, her second daughter with actor Ryan Gosling. The couple are also parents to one-year-old Esmeralda.
“They were there for me when Amada was born,” she said of her family. “We had a funeral service for [Mendez] and that same week I had the baby. So it was really, really intense and obviously beyond heartbreaking, but also kind of beautiful.”
“And being totally honest, I don’t feel like I’ve really processed that yet,” she added.
Mendes also shared a bit about her family life, revealing the origin of their new daughter’s name.
“We had a few names picked out for our new baby, and when she was born, we didn’t feel like those names were her,” she explained. “We just kept going back to Amada. In true Latin fashion, we reuse names all the time.”
“I actually told Ryan, ‘This is common in Latin culture, so it wouldn’t be crazy,’” Mendes added. “So we went with Amada because it was something we kept going back to. And it was an emotional time with the passing of my brother. We thought how beautiful to go with what made us emotional and with what felt like her. When we looked at her, we thought, ‘Aww, Amadita.’”
The actress added that she wants her daughters to grow up celebrating their Latin heritage.
“We’re constantly playing Cuban music. I speak to them in Spanish, and my mom speaks to Esmeralda in Spanish,” she revealed. “Any time I have an opportunity to introduce her or them — I have to say ‘them’ now, though my newborn just sleeps all the time — to my culture, whether it’s through music, or through food, I do. That is a main priority, for sure.”
