Eva Mendes Holds Back Tears Revealing Heartbreaking Mother’s Day News About Mom

Eva Mendes shared an update on her mother’s health during a stop on Today with Hoda & Jenna on Friday. Mendes teared up as she revealed that her mother is “not doing too well.” The Hitch star, 48, also spoke about raising her daughters Esmeralda, 7, and Amada, 6, with Ryan Gosling.

Since Friday’s episode of Today was a special Mother’s Day-themed hour, co-host Hoda Kotby wished Mendes’ mother Eve Pere Suarez a Happy Mother’s Day. “She’s not doing too well right now, so, means a lot to me,” Mendes said. “She’s a survivor in every way, thank you.”

Mendes did not go into further detail about her mother’s health. Instead, she spoke about her journey to becoming a mother and falling in love with Gosling, 41. The two met while filming The Place Beyond the Pines in 2012 and have been together ever since.

“Something really crazy happened,” Mendes said of becoming a mom in her 40s. “I met Ryan Gosling, I fell in love with Ryan Gosling, and then I was like ‘Oh right. I want your babies.’” She went on to say that she “really consciously” wanted to wait until she was older to have children.

“I just didn’t feel… really it wasn’t until I met Ryan and fell in love,” Mendes said. “But also as a woman, I just wasn’t ready. It’s such a personal choice for a woman, obviously. Then you run the risk of… you’re always running a risk. When I was pregnant there was always something to worry about. But thankfully I had really healthy pregnancies and I was happy I waited.”

Mendes has made similar comments in the past. In an April 2019 interview with Women’s Health, she said she never saw herself as a mother until after meeting Gosling. “It was the furthest thing from my mind,” she said. Then Gosling “happened… I mean, falling in love with him. Then it made sense for me to have…not kids, but his kids. It was very specific to him.”

While Gosling has continued starring in movies, Mendes left acting behind in 2014 after appearing in Lost River, which Gosling directed. She has moved on to other projects though. After appearing on Today, she returned to Instagram to promote Skura Style, a “smart” sponge business she co-owns.

On Today, Kotb asked if there was anything she really missed about acting. After joking about missing the Craft Services table, she admitted that there really wasn’t anything. She did leave the door open to returning though. “I think that’d be fun at some point. But I think my list has gotten so short. I don’t want to do anything violent, I don’t want to do anything sexual,” she told Kotb. “I’m like, ‘What’s left?’”