• Eva Mendes reveals that "falling in love with" Ryan Gosling was the reason she decided to have children in a new interview with Women's Health.
• The actors, who share two young daughters together, have an "amazing support group" in their mothers, sisters, and family members.
• Mendes said dealing with fame while raising kids is "super scary," but she tries to keep their lives normal and out of the spotlight.

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling are extremely tight-lipped about their nearly eight-year relationship and two young daughters—Esmeralda, 4, and Amada, 2—but the actress opened up about their family life in her new cover story for Women's Health.

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Mendes, 45, originally didn't think she'd become a mom, but Gosling, 38, changed that. "Ryan Gosling happened," were her exact words. "I mean, falling in love with him," she explained to the magazine. "Then it made sense for me to have … not kids, but his kids. It was very specific to him."

Mendes and Gosling first kicked off dating speculation after they appeared in the 2011 film The Place Beyond the Pines together. Their only joint red carpet appearance was at the movie's premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Mendes didn't accompany Gosling during the 2017 awards season when he and La La Land earned multiple nominations; however, she did watch his Golden Globes win (and his sweet shoutout to her) from home while their kids were in the other room watching PBS.

The Place Beyond The Pines

Raising two children as Hollywood stars is no easy feat, but Gosling and Mendes have plenty of help from their family. "We have an amazing support group: Ryan’s mom, my mom, Ryan’s and my sisters. It’s a village that helped us," Mendes told Women's Health. "My heart goes out to women who do this alone. I basically come from a single-parent household; although I love my dad, my mom mostly raised four of us on her own."

Gosling and Mendes during a rare NYC outing in 2017.

There's also the "concern" of keeping her children out of the spotlight and away from paparazzi. (She and Gosling don't make many public appearances with their kids.) "Not only are we in the industry, but the whole fame component is super scary when you try to raise your kids," she added.

The actress keeps her daughters somewhat in the dark about her career to help keep their lives as normal as possible. Mendes doesn't let her girls see her "put attention" into her appearance and they haven't seen her at work, she told Women's Health. "I’m just Mom," she added. "And I’m more than happy to just be Mom."

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Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now. 

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