Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes' Relationship Timeline

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes first met on a movie set in 2011

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling at 'The Place Beyond the Pines' film premiere on March 28, 2013 in New York City.
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling at 'The Place Beyond the Pines' film premiere on March 28, 2013 in New York City. Photo:

Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling are one of Hollywood's rarest types of A-list couples: They've been together for more than a decade, but they're also deliberately private.

The pair have been linked since filming The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011 when they played a couple with an infant son.

Their on-screen chemistry translated to their personal lives when, shortly after filming wrapped, the two were spotted getting cozy at Disneyland and sharing a romantic kiss in Paris.

Mendes and Gosling welcomed their first child, daughter Esmeralda, in 2014, followed by a second daughter, Amada, in 2016. While the actors have become more open about their relationship in recent years, they're still reluctant to reveal too much about their family life.

"My man and my kids are private," Mendes wrote on Instagram in 2020.

From meeting on set to raising their two daughters together, here's the complete timeline of Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling's relationship.

August 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes meet while filming The Place Beyond the Pines

Mendes and Gosling first met when they played a couple in The Place Beyond the Pines.

Prior to meeting Mendes, Gosling had dated his The Notebook costar Rachel McAdams, and was briefly linked to Olivia Wilde in early 2011. Meanwhile, Mendes had been in a long-term relationship with music producer George Augusto before the pair split in 2011.

September 7, 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes go to Disneyland

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes enjoyed a nice evening together as a couple at Disneyland
SplashNews.com

Not long after hitting it off on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines, Mendes and Gosling ventured out on a casual date to Disneyland's California Adventure Park.

"Like a dating couple, they always walked very closely, holding hands and their arms touching side-by-side," an eyewitness told PEOPLE.

The two enjoyed pink cotton candy and popcorn and rode several of the amusement park's rides during their date.

October 17, 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes pack on the PDA

Mendes and Gosling were spotted locking lips while running errands in Hollywood with their dog. While the couple had yet to publicly confirm their relationship, their PDA made it clear with a kiss.

November 2011: Ryan Gosling meets Eva Mendes in Paris for Thanksgiving

Gosling went the extra mile — literally — to meet Mendes in Paris for their first Thanksgiving together. The Hitch star was in France to film the indie production Holly Motors.

The couple enjoyed Argentine food paired with red wine before touring Père Lachaise Cemetery, where Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde are buried. They were also spotted visiting the city's catacombs and dining near the Eiffel Tower.

December 2011: Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling star in Funny or Die's Drunk History Christmas

Mendes and Gosling proved they shared the same sense of humor when they costarred in Funny or Die's Drunk History Christmas. Gosling played an inebriated narrator of The Night Before Christmas poem, while Mendes played his wife, asleep in bed.

January 2012: Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling spend New Year's Eve together

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes seen at Tao Restaurant for SNL after party on September 30, 2017 in New York City
Robert Kamau/GC Images

Mendes and Gosling rang in 2012 together at Manhattan's Bowery Hotel, sharing a New Year's kiss. The next day, they celebrated the new year with Gosling's mom, Donna, by joining her to watch a movie at an AMC theater in Manhattan.

June 7, 2012: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes attend his mom's graduation

Gosling took Mendes on a trip to Canada, where they visited Niagara Falls and attended a graduation ceremony at nearby Brock University for Gosling's mom. She earned her bachelor's degree in education, a career Gosling said she chose after homeschooling him.

The Toronto Sun reported that Gosling jumped to his feet, applauding as his mom was handed her diploma.

September 7, 2012: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes walk the TIFF red carpet together

Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling. Sonia Recchia/Getty

Gosling and Mendes maintained professionalism on the Toronto International Film Festival red carpet while promoting The Place Beyond the Pines, as they weren't publicly a couple yet.

Years later, however, Mendes revealed to Kelly Clarkson that she was struggling while posing for photos with Gosling.

"That's literally me going, 'I'm not in love with him. What? I'm not in love.' 'Cause we were trying to be very professional," she said.

May 20, 2014: Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling team up again on Lost River

Gosling and Mendes reunited on set for Lost River, which was written and directed by Gosling and starred Mendes. The film, partially autobiographical for Gosling, focuses on the relationship between a single mother and her sons who are trying to survive amid an economic crisis.

According to Gosling, the experience heightened the level of respect between them. Gosling told Sunday Style, "They know what is at stake for you personally, and all the work that's gone into getting there."

Gosling also praised Mendes for the active role she took in making the low-budget movie happen. The couple even ventured to the Salvation Army together to buy wardrobe items for the cast.

"She hates credit and she'll even be mad that I'm giving her that credit," he said. "But she was very helpful in so many ways."

September 12, 2014: Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling welcome their first daughter

Mendes and Gosling both became first-time parents with the birth of their daughter Esmeralda Amada Gosling, who was born on Sept. 12, 2014.

Mendes later opened up about how she never wanted children until she "fell in love" with Gosling.

"I was lucky enough to work my bum off for 20 years," she said. "I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby."

June 21, 2015: Eva Mendes gives Ryan Gosling a watch for his first Father's Day

To commemorate the importance of his first Father's Day as a dad, Mendes gave Gosling a watch.

"The brand doesn't matter. The symbol was what mattered. It meant, you're on the clock now," Gosling later said of the gift.

December 7, 2015: Ryan Gosling gushes over Eva Mendes

Though normally tight-lipped about his personal life, Gosling publicly praised Mendes in an interview with Hello!, saying, "I know that I'm with the person I'm supposed to be with."

He also stated the only requirement he looks for in a woman: "That she's Eva Mendes. There's nothing else I'm looking for."

April 29, 2016: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes welcome their second daughter

After keeping her pregnancy hidden from the public until its final months, Mendes and Gosling welcomed their second daughter on April 29, 2016. Born in Santa Monica, California, Amada Lee Gosling is named after Mendes' grandmother.

January 8, 2017: Ryan Gosling dedicates his best actor award to Eva Mendes' late brother

Entertainment: 74th Golden Globe Awards
Paul Drinkwater/Handout Photo via USA TODAY NETWORK

At the 2017 Golden Globe Awards, Gosling won best actor in a comedy or musical for his performance in La La Land. However, as the actor told ET, Mendes had to sit his big night out.

"She's at home with our girls," he explained.

He went on to praise Mendes in his acceptance speech. "While I was singing and dancing and playing piano ... my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother with his battle with cancer," he said.

Gosling dedicated his win to Mendes' older brother, Juan Carlos Mendes, who died the previous April.

February 12, 2020: Eva Mendes praises Ryan Gosling's cooking

While Mendes took a career break to raise her young daughters, she didn't embrace cooking as a household task — that's Gosling's territory.

"Ryan is an amazing chef AND baker," Mendes replied to a commenter who asked about the couple's cooking habits on Instagram.

"I'm not sure that what I do is cooking," she continued. "It's more like steaming veggies and juicing and making rice."

As for Gosling's go-to for a quick, cheap dinner. He said on on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "There's not much a grilled cheese can't fix."

October 4, 2020: Eva Mendes says she's happy at home with Ryan Gosling

While quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic might have changed their lifestyle, Mendes shared she enjoyed staying at home with Gosling, their daughters and their doberman.

"Rather be home with my man than anywhere else in the world," she replied to a fan who said Gosling needed to take her out more.

She also shared a clip from their home that featured their daughter, Amada Lee, playing piano in the background. Mendes said Cuban music was their quarantine go-to.

October 2021: Ryan Gosling opens up about parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic with Eva Mendes

Like many other parents, Mendes and Gosling were cooped up with their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actor told GQ that the pair did their best to "entertain" them while at home.

"Our kids were at a difficult age not to be able to see other kids and interact with people, even though Eva and I did our best," he said.

Gosling said that staying positive took some degree of acting skills, noting that they probably did more acting in quarantine than in their films. "Tougher crowd, though," he joked.

June 16, 2022: Eva Mendes shows support for Ryan Gosling's role as Ken in Barbie

In June 2022, the world got its first look at Gosling as Ken in the upcoming live-action Barbie film, directed by Greta Gerwig and also starring Margot Robbie. Warner Bros. Pictures released a photo of Gosling in character and sporting platinum blonde hair, an all-denim outfit, six pack abs and "Ken" underwear.

The image immediately went viral, and Mendes was quick to give Gosling a shout-out on Instagram. "So. F. Funny. So. F. Good. So F excited for you to see this ... #Thatsmyken," the actress wrote alongside the photo.

August 18, 2022: Eva Mendes has Ryan Gosling as her phone screensaver

In an Instagram video, Mendes showed off her "everyday cleaning must-haves" with a montage of household cleaning. But the video is a lot more romantic than it may seem.

In the first shot, Mendes wiped off her phone and paused to show off the photo on her lock screen: an image of Gosling in his new Netflix film The Gray Man. Mendes even smiled and laughed at the cute photo reveal.

August 23, 2022: Eva Mendes says home is where Ryan Gosling and her kids are

For Mendes, a house with four walls isn't a home without her family. She told PEOPLE that home is with "my man and my kids."

She added, "Wherever they are, that's just what it is."

October 25, 2022: Eva Mendes shares details of her and Ryan Gosling's daughters' education

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mendes discussed how she and Gosling navigate their kids' education. "I don't do the homeschooling myself because I've tried that and it's not one of my strengths," the actress said.

She also shared that she has a "strong belief" that people should "try to always keep a family together, no matter what you're doing."

"Especially when the children are small," she added, explaining that the family chose to homeschool while traveling for her and Gosling's projects.

"We're lucky enough to have someone we travel with that can continue their education at this point, and what we do is we try to incorporate the city we're in as much as possible," Mendes continued, noting that her kids have picked up "Aussie twangs" as the family spent the last month and a half in Australia.

November 15, 2022: Eva Mendes hints that she and Ryan Gosling are married

Mendes' wrist tattoo, which fans first noticed in September 2022, suggests that she and Gosling are husband and wife.

The tattoo says "de Gosling," and in Hispanic culture, the use of "de" or "of" unifies the woman's last name with her husband's after marriage, meaning the star's tattoo could be indicative of a "Mrs. Gosling" title.

The actress showed off the ink in a Nov. 15 Instagram post, which she captioned, "🖤⚔️🖤."

November 18, 2022: Eva Mendes refers to Ryan Gosling as her "husband"

While in Australia promoting her charity work, Mendes appeared on Channel Nine's Today, where she referred to Gosling as her "husband" for the first time publicly.

"Everyone is so welcoming here and my husband Ryan is here, and we are having the best time," she said.

During a separate interview on the Kyle and Jackie O Show, Mendes shared that her "de Gosling" tattoo — the original source of the marriage rumors — wasn't new ink.

"I got it years ago, but I posted a picture and I've gotten a lot of funny questions," she said, adding that she likes to keep her love life "mysterious."

April 4, 2023: Eva Mendes marks 10 years since meeting Ryan Gosling on The Place Beyond the Pines

It's been 10 years since Mendes and Gosling played Romina and Luke on The Place Beyond the Pines.

"Feels like lifetimes ago," the actress wrote on Instagram alongside several behind-the-scenes photos from the 2013 film.

April 6, 2023: Eva Mendes explains why she's "not comfortable" posing on red carpets with Ryan Gosling

Fans were really hoping to see Mendes and Gosling together on the red carpet at the Barbie premiere in July 2023, but it looks like the couple won't be posing for photos anytime soon.

"We don't do those things together," Mendes wrote in response to a follower on Instagram, adding that she's "only comfortable" reposting photos that are already circulating on the internet.

She later clarified that she's "not comfortable" exposing her "very private life" with Gosling.

"I'm still dying to do another movie with him though…♥️," the Ghost Rider star said.

May 31, 2023: Ryan Gosling says his role in The Place Beyond the Pines made him want to have a family with Eva Mendes

In an interview with GQ, Gosling reminisced about The Place Beyond the Pines — the 2013 film where he plays a motorcycle stuntman who robs banks in order to provide for his girlfriend, played by Mendes, and their newborn baby.

"I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her," he said. "And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore."

Gosling added, "I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”

July 6, 2023: Eva Mendes praises Ryan Gosling's acting skills

In a sweet Instagram post, Mendes shared images from her and Gosling's 2012 film, The Place Beyond the Pines. Over one photo, the actress included a quote from Gerwig in which the director described Gosling as "some combination of Marlon Brando meets Gene Wilder meets John Barrymore meets John Travolta."

"Mi Hombre. Mi Vida…To say he's the greatest actor I've ever worked with is an understatement," Mendes wrote in the caption.

January 13, 2024: Ryan Gosling calls Eva Mendes the "girl of my dreams"

Gosling was honored with the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. During his acceptance speech, he gave Mendes a sweet shout-out.

"I for one have been so lucky. Most importantly, I got to meet the girl of my dreams, Eva Mendes, and have two dream children," he said. "I dreamed of one day making movies, and now, movies have made my life a dream."

March 10, 2024: Eva Mendes teases Ryan Gosling to "come home" after the 2024 Oscars

Eva Mendes back stage after Husband Ryan Goslings oscar performance of I'm Just Ken
Eva Mendes posts on Instagram after Ryan Gosling's 2024 Oscar performance.

Eva Mendes/ Instagram

After Gosling took the stage with his fellow Barbie cast members for a memorable “I’m Just Ken” performance at the 2024 Oscars, Mendes teased him on Instagram about helping out with their family's night routine.

"You took Ken all the way to the Oscar’s, RG. Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed. 💋," she captioned a photo of herself wearing a pink blazer and a black cowboy hat.

Although the tune didn't win Best Song, the actress cheered on her longtime partner leading up to the event. "Always by my man,” she wrote alongside a video filmed outside Gosling's dressing room at the major event.

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