Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes's Relationship Timeline

Despite being one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples, actors Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are rarely seen together and have kept their relationship out of the limelight. In fact, one of their only joint red carpet appearances took place in 2012 when they were promoting The Place Beyond the Pines, a film in which they both starred and first met (more on that below).

Still, just because the two like to remain private doesn't mean we don't get glimpses of their undying love for one another. The Miami native has taken to Instagram to shore up her hubby by sporting t-shirts with his face and sharing other appreciation posts with adorable captions in support of Gosling's turn as Ken in 2023's Barbie. Meanwhile, whether via his jewelry or acceptance speeches, the Oscar-nominated actor proves that his other half is always on his mind.

Though the info is scarce, we're bringing you everything there is to know about this golden couple, from the Pines to their two daughters, Esmeralda and Amada.

Here's a complete timeline of Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes's relationship.

August 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes first meet

Gosling and Mendes met as co-stars in the 2012 crime thriller The Place Beyond the Pines, in which they play a former couple co-parenting their son. Like many Hollywood love stories, the actors' romance burgeoned while on set.

September 6, 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are first spotted together

The Mickey Mouse Club alum took Mendes to Disneyland, of all places, in 2011. During their outing, sparks flew as the seemingly more-than-co-stars were spotted holding hands with their PDA on full display. 

"They were very playful. Eva was skipping around like a little girl ... She would lean into him, and she held his arm the entire time," a source told Us Weekly at the time.

December 19, 2011: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are featured in a holiday special

Mendes and Gosling were featured on "Drunk History Christmas," alongside Jim Carrey, for a Funny or Die skit. Sure, they were acting, but these two appeared to have a shared sense of humor.

May 7, 2012: Eva Mendes avoids confirming relationship status with Ryan Gosling

Even though the actors were spotted together at Disneyland while filming Pines, neither Mendes nor Gosling had confirmed they were an item. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2012, Mendes dodged questions about Gosling, laughing off the dating rumors.

June 7, 2012: Eva Mendes attends graduation of Ryan Gosling's mom

Mendes accompanied Gosling to his mother's graduation from Brock University in Toronto. Though she's not officially a daughter-in-law yet — she played the part well.

September 7, 2012: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes make their red carpet debut as a couple

The pair walked the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for The Place Beyond the Pines. Interestingly, this has been one of their only joint red carpet appearances since the start of their relationship. At the New York City premiere in March 2013, Gosling and Mendes weren't photographed together.

February 12, 2014: Eva Mendes denies she and Ryan Gosling are expecting

The Hitch star brushed off pregnancy rumors after reports came out saying she was avoiding X-ray machines at the airport. 

"It's so ridiculous," she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "It all started because I didn't want to go through the scanners at the airport. You know those X-ray scanners, which are really creepy? They basically see you naked, right? And not only that, but there's a radiation aspect to it, so I always opt out."

July 9, 2014: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are reportedly having their first child together

Us Weekly reported that Mendes was pregnant with her and Gosling's first child. Neither of them confirmed the news, surprising nobody at all.

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

The low-key couple welcomed their daughter, Esmeralda Amada, in 2014. Mendes revealed to beauty curator Violet Grey that the name was inspired by a character from one of her favorite books.

"Ryan and I both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and we just think it's a beautiful name," she told the outlet. "Amada was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish."

She also explained that she and Gosling were going to make a conscious decision to keep their daughter away from the celebrity sphere. 

"Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it's unfair, but that's our reality. So Ryan and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that. It's such an intimate time for the mother, too."

April 10, 2015: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes collaborate on Lost River

Gosling wrote and made his directorial debut with the 2015 sci-fi drama Lost River, co-starring Mendes. 

"Being in the film Lost River was nothing short of a magical experience. I would love to either act opposite him again or be directed by him at some point," Mendes told Oprah Daily in 2019, reflecting on her involvement in the project. "I just love working with him. In a career of 20+ years, to have my two most incredible creative experiences be with him, of course, I'd want a third."

December 7, 2015: Ryan Gosling mentions Eva Mendes in an interview

In a rare move, the Canadian actor mentioned his partner during a press interview. 

"This will be our first Christmas where [Esmeralda is] sort of taking it all in, so that's exciting," he told Hello! in 2015. "I know that I'm with the person I'm supposed to be with." 

When asked what qualities he looks for in a partner, Gosling responded, "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

Mendes gave birth to their second daughter, Amada Lee, in 2016.

"My grandmother's name is Amada, and Esmeralda Amada is the name of our oldest. We had a few names picked out for our new baby, and when she was born, we didn't feel like those names were her," Mendes told Latina, according to Hello! "We came up with a few more, even that morning, and tried them out. We were like, 'What about Viviana?' But we just kept going back to Amada."

The fact that their two daughters share the same name isn't all that unusual for Mendes. 

"In true Latin fashion, we reuse names all the time," she said. "I actually told [Ryan], 'This is common in Latin culture, so it wouldn't be crazy.'"

January 8, 2017: Ryan Gosling thanks Eva Mendes during his acceptance speech

At the 2017 Golden Globes, Gosling thanked Mendes during his acceptance speech and dedicated his win (Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for La La Land) to her late brother.

"You don't get to be up here without standing on the shoulders of a mountain of people," Gosling said. "There's no time to thank everyone. I would like to try to thank one person properly and say while I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I've ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer." 

He continued, "If she hadn't have taken all that on so that I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me today. So sweetheart, thank you. To my daughters Amada and Esmeralda, I love you. And if I may, I would like to dedicate this to the memory of her brother, Juan Carlos Mendez."

September 30, 2017: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes attend a Saturday Night Live after-party in N.Y.C.

After hosting Saturday Night Live, Gosling hit the town with his lady to celebrate at the show's after-party. According to Vanity Fair, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Scarlett Johansson were all in attendance.

June 2018: Ryan Gosling mentions Eva Mendes on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

During his 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Gosling shared that Mendes diagnosed him with brain damage after an incident on set.

"I was just hellbent on this idea that there were people in doughnut stores all around the world that were trying to charm their way into getting free doughnuts," he said. "She was so patient and listening. She was like, 'I think you might have brain damage. I think you should go to the hospital.'"

April 16, 2019: Eva Mendes praises Ryan Gosling

In 2019, Mendes told Women's Health that she had never considered having kids — until she met Gosling. 

"Ryan Gosling happened," she admitted. "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."

April 2020: Eva Mendes defends her private relationship with Ryan Gosling

After a user commented on Instagram asking her why she doesn't post photos of her family, Mendes commented back (via Business Insider), saying she was just setting boundaries.

"I have always had a clear boundary when it comes to my man and my kids," she wrote before adding, "I'll talk about them of course, with limits, but I won't post pictures of our daily life. And since my children are still so little and don't understand what posting their image really means, I don't have their consent. And I won't post their image until they're old enough to give me consent."

October 2020: Eva Mendes says she prefers to "be home" with Ryan Gosling

In 2020, Mendes shared on Instagram that she loves being a homebody — because she gets to do it with Ryan Gosling. 

"No thank you, I'm good. Rather be home with my man than anywhere else in the world," she wrote to a commenter who said she needed to get out more.

January 1, 2022: Ryan Gosling opens up about family life with Eva Mendes and kids

Gosling once discussed the challenges he and his wife faced while parenting during the pandemic, telling British GQ in 2022, "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 jokingly added that Mendes did "more acting in quarantine than in our films. Tougher crowd, though."

June 29, 2022: Eva Mendes reacts to Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie

It was announced in 2022 that Gosling, opposite Margot Robbie, would star as Ken and Barbie, respectively, in the 2023 live-action film Barbie. When we got our first peek of Gosling as Ken (platinum hair, bronze tan, abs, oh my!), we couldn't believe our eyes.

As for Mendes's reaction, according to Entertainment Weekly, she told the hosts of The Talk, "I saw the photo and the 14-year-old in me was like, 'Ahhh.' It's a funny photo, and he's trying to be funny, so it worked on all levels."

November 15, 2022: Eva Mendes shares her tattoo dedicated to Ryan Gosling

Eagle-eyed fans first took notice of Mendes' wrist tattoo in September 2022, sparking rumors that the two had tied the knot. Mendes seemed to address the speculation by flaunting her "de Gosling" (i.e. "Mrs. Gosling" in Spanish) tatt on her IG just a couple of months later.

November 18, 2022: Eva Mendes confirms marriage to Ryan Gosling

While on Australia's Today show, Mendes casually referred to Gosling as her "husband," reported the Daily Mail. "Everyone is so welcoming here, and my husband Ryan is here, and we are having the best time."

May 15, 2023: Eva Mendes celebrates Ryan Gosling as Ken

The Ghost Rider (2007) actress showed that she's still got googly eyes for her real-life Ken doll. She posted a series of photos of herself repping a "Ryan Gosling as Ken" graphic T-shirt along with a caption reading, "Got that real big Kenergy."

July 9, 2023: Ryan Gosling wears Eva Mendes-inspired jewelry

The Golden Globe-winning actor arrived at the Los Angeles premiere of Barbie in head-to-toe pink. A closer look at his ensemble revealed an "E" pendant necklace, a subtle shoutout to his wife, his stylist Mark Avery told InStyle.

December 20, 2023: Eva Mendes shares Ryan Gosling's holiday version of "I'm Just Ken" on Instagram

Mendes proved she's Gosling's No. 1 fan when she posted a series of video clips of the actor-singer performing a Christmas rendition of the Grammy-nominated song "I'm Just Ken."

"So grateful to @iammarkronson for getting my man to make more music. Dead Man's Bones is my favorite band ….when I first heard Ryan sing, MY HEART EXPLODED. More Ryan & Ronson musica por favor! ♥️," Mendes captioned one of the videos on her Instagram.

January 14, 2024: Ryan Gosling gives a shout-out to Eva Mendes during the International Film Festival

After winning the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film in 2024, Gosling gave a sweet shout-out to his wife during his acceptance speech: "Most importantly, I got to meet the girl of my dreams, Eva Mendes, and have two dream children. I dreamed one day of making movies, and now, movies have made my life a dream."

January 16, 2024: Eva Mendes supports Ryan Gosling as Ken (again)

Despite the #NotMyKen movement, Gosling received an Oscar nod in 2024 for his portrayal of the doll in Barbie. Mendes used his nomination to show her support for the actor and as an opportunity to call out critics via an Instagram post.

"So proud of my man," the caption read alongside a screenshot of a negative Rolling Stone review of Gosling a Ken from 2022. "So much hate when he took on this role. So many people trying to shame him for doing it. Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to Oscars. So beyond proud to be this Ken's Barbie."

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