Eva Mendes is opening up about her decision to stop acting when she became a mom. In a new interview, she shared that she made the choice when she welcomed her first child with Ryan Gosling. According to her, she made the choice to stop working as an actor because of the grind and travel involved ā something she didnāt want to deal with once she had kids.
Given how successful Ryan is, she realized that they both didnāt need to sacrifice their time and energy working. But even though Eva is framing it as her choice, people still seem to be taking issue.
More from CafeMom: 15 Celebrities Who've Ditched Hollywood To Raise Their Kids Elsewhere
She made her stance clear.
Speaking with the Today show, Eva explained that the choice to give up acting wasnāt particularly hard for her. "It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, 'OK, heās going to work and Iām going to work, Iām just going to work here,'" she explained.
She and Ryan share two daughters: Esmeralda and Amada. She also called the choice to put Hollywood on hold a "no-brainer."
She says it was her choice to stay home.
"Iām so lucky," she says of her choice to stay at home to "have this time with [her] children."
But that doesn't mean she wasn't still working.
"I still worked, I just didnāt act because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away," she explained. While her kids are young, she wants to show up for them and be present.
More from CafeMom: Ryan Gosling Admits He Never Thought of Having Kids Until He Met Eva Mendes
Her words didn't go over well.
People on social media seemed to take issue with Evaās admission and made their opinions clear.
"I love Ryan Gosling but I hate how he took her away from us," one person tweeted. "She was the IT GIRL back then and she was popping up in a lot of movies and all of a sudden she disappears to be a SAHM."
"Something doesnāt sit well with me that he goes to premieres and she stays home and takes care of the kids and sells sponges," another person shared.
"Now that sheās said it out loud sheās finally confirmed my suspicions that that man tied her down with kids & robbed her of her career," someone stated. "Shame. meanwhile, his career has been consistent & booming at the expense of her 'invisible' labour. when will it end?"
There were others who were on Eva's side.
"Eva Mendes has a successful cleaning products company and stays a successful entrepreneur of multiple businesses and people are mad af she doesn't want to play Wacky Mom #4 in a Jennifer Garner Netflix movie, like …" one person tweeted.
Another tweet read: "U ppl seriously need to leave eva mendes alone. idk who is spreading these false narratives that ryan made eva quit acting when in reality she left because she was constantly getting stereotyped as a latina. she also WANTED to be a stay at home mom and thereās no issue w that."
"Some women actually just wanna be at home with their children, that where they are happiest!" someone wrote. "You can also tell by her posts, that she's no longer interested in the glitz & glamor. I get it."
Eva is supportive of her man.
Eva made it clear that she supports Ryan and his work, including his performance at this yearās Oscars, which she joked about in an Instagram post, asking him to "come home" and "put the kids to bed."
"Because thatās what itās about," she said. "You go, you do your job the best you can and then you come home."
