Eva Mendes Explains Why She Keeps Her Life With Ryan Gosling & Their Kids Private

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If you’re waiting for Eva Mendes to drop photos of hubby Ryan Gosling or their daughters on her Instagram feed, well, you’ll be waiting indefinitely. For what is possibly the first time, Mendes is addressing her notoriously private approach to her family and why you’re not likely to see her pull them into the limelight anytime soon.

While Mendes has basically been guarded about her relationship with Gosling from the beginning, she has opened up more in recent months about her personal life. In one interview, she described what it takes for the two to pull off a date night with two little girls — Esmeralda, 5, and Amada, 3— underfoot. In another interview, she gushed that Gosling is an “amazing chef and baker.” So, it’s only natural that fans would feel perhaps hopeful that she might decide to start posting photos of her precious fam on social media.

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But when one of those fans commented on Mendes’ latest Instagram post joking that they “wouldn’t mind an appearance by Ryan” on the page,” the actress-slash-entrepreneur offered insight into why she won’t. “As far as Ryan, I’ll only post flashbacks of things that are already ‘out there’ (like pics from movies we did or stuff like that,” Mendes explained, adding, “My man and kids are private. That’s important to me, so thanks for getting that.”

The response was part of a larger message to that same fan after they’d thanked Mendes for being so forthcoming with her followers. They gushed, “Just wanted to say how much it means to us fans to be able to talk to you and how great it is that unlike many other celebrities, you acknowledge us.”

That clearly struck a chord with Mendes, who was quick to write back. “Thank you for saying this. I take so much joy from connecting to other women. It means so much to me. Even just a quick exchange,” she replied. “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.”

Mendes elaborated that in the picture the fan had originally commented on, for example, she was modeling for her clothing line campaign. Accordingly, the photo was retouched — something that was important of her to convey to her female fans. “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,” she said. “So, thank you again for your comment and feel free to call me out on bulls-t If you see it.”

I mean, if you didn’t already love Mendes (we do, we all do), you certainly should now. We love how she cuts through unrealistic beauty expectations by just telling it like it is. And we really love how telling it like it is for Mendes also includes being honest about the importance of keeping some parts of her life just for her.

Before you go, click here to discover Mendes’ favorite hair hack.

Launch Gallery: Eva Mendes Uses This Lazy Hack for Great Hair

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