Eva Mendes Addresses Why She Won’t Share Photos of Ryan Gosling and Kids

While Eva Mendes has an active Instagram page, the actress is very selective about what she shares with fans, who continue to wonder why her longtime partner Ryan Gosling and their children are never included in her posts. In a surprisingly long answer to one fan, Mendes said she has no plans to include them and wants to respect their privacy. The Place Beyond The Pines co-stars are parents to Esmeralda Amanda, 5, and Amanda Lee, 3.

Back on Tuesday, Mendes shared a picture from an old photo shoot. One fan quickly praised Mendes for frequently writing back to her fans, unlike many other celebrities.

“You look amazing, Eva!” the fan wrote. “Just wanted to say how much it means to us fans to be able to talk to you and how great is that unlike many other celebrities you acknowledge us. So thank you! p.s. [wouldn’t] mind an [appearance] by Ryan on this page.”

Mendes replied with a long statement, thanking the fan for her comments. She also explained why Gosling and their daughters are never seen in new Instagram posts.

“Thank you for saying this,” Mendes replied. “I take so much joy from connecting to other women. It means so much to me. Even just a quick exchange. I struggle with Social Media but I love the constant connection with women. I try to post responsibly and I try to make sure I don’t portray myself in a way that makes other women feel bad. Instagram can be hurtful in that way. Like with this picture, this is actually a campaign shot and it was retouched. So I want women to know that.”

“I want women to know it takes a lot for me to look this way and that I struggle with food Among many other things,” Mendes continued. “So thank you again for your comment and feel free to call me out on bulls— If you see it. As far as Ryan, I’ll only post flash backs of things that are already ‘out there’ (like pics from movies we did or stuff like that). My man and kids are private. That’s important to me so thanks for getting that. Have a beautiful day. Sending so much love!”

On Friday, Mendes did a follow-up by sharing a look at the un-retouched version of the same photo.

“A few days ago I posted the picture on the left and made a comment that it was retouched,” she wrote in the caption. “Most the stuff I post is from my phone and not retouched FYI. But yes I do like a filter. Anyway wanted to post side by side with the unretouched image on the right so you can see the before and after. Always wanna be transparent with you all.”

Mendes, 46, and Gosling, 39, met when working together on The Place Beyond The Pines in 2011. The couple have been famously private about their life together, although Mendes occasionally spills the beans about life as a mom. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said she would like to return to acting just to play a Disney princess for her daughters.

“Acting is something that I will always love. It’s just like now that I have children, I’m kind of extreme,” Mendes said. “There’s just so many things I won’t do. Like I won’t do most of the movies I’ve done in the past. A lot of things are off that list. I don’t want to do anything too violent. Of course, I don’t want to do anything too sexual or sexual at all. So I’m basically like, ‘Disney, I’m all yours, Disney.’ That’s all that’s left.”

Mendes has not appeared in a film since 2014’s Lost River, which Gosling directed. She is more focused on her fashion designing career.

“My ambition shifts from this to that at different times and I think part of the message that I like to get across is that you don’t have to want to have everything,” she told ET. “You don’t have to want to be this, like, super mom, super mogul. I’m not and I’m really happy this way… I’m super ambitious and, again, I love taking risks, I love the business side of everything I do. But having an empire is not the goal for me.

Photo credit: Sonia Recchia/Getty Images