How Did Ryan Gosling And Eva Mendes Meet?

There are very few confirmed facts about Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes' relationship: the two actors have been together for over a decade, they share two daughters, and they're married, but that's about it. Because when it comes to the question of how Gosling and Mendes met, you can forget the accepted narrative — as it's totally wrong.

The notoriously private couple like to keep their personal life private — like, really private. Elle reported they didn't officially confirm they were married until November 2022 — and even then, it was just a fleeting, casual mention. "Everyone is so welcoming here, and my husband Ryan is here, and we are having the best time," Mendes told Australia's Channel Nine's "Today" while on a charity tour down under.

Mendes and Gosling shun the spotlight when they're not behind the camera or conducting photoshoots and interviews. And when they do partake in sit-downs, they steer clear of talking about their relationship and kids, with a few notable exceptions. However, despite his very best efforts at flying under the radar, Gosling is still all over the interweb, thanks to those "hey girl" memes. Unless you lived under a rock at the end of the aughts, you've seen some version of a "Gosling's my boyfriend" photo and witty one-liner composite. However, hey girl, sorry to burst your bubble, but clearly, he's not because he's happily married with two kids. So, talking of wifey, how did Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes meet?

The universally reported narrative of how Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes met is in 2011 while filming "The Place Beyond the Pines." It's what People states, Us Weekly, Glamour, Vogue, and even CBS, amongst countless other entertainment and news outlets. Still, it's just an example of how one incorrect assumption can spread like wildfire and suddenly become a fact. "We did not meet on set. The magic started way before, but here's a little magic captured on camera. Gracias to the increíble director Derek Cianfrance," Mendes captioned a clip from the flick, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its release.

"10 years!!! Still surreal!!! True love, on and off screen!!" a Gosling fan account replied. Hey girl, don't you wish you were his true love? "There's such special work in 'The Place Beyond the Pines,'" Mendes told OprahMag in 2020. "We had known each other for a while already, so to work together was really exciting." That's two denials direct from Mendes now. How did they meet then? She's never said, of course, despite fans being desperate to know.

"How did you meet?" One beseeched in the comments section on Mendes' Instagram post. But nope, crickets. Their love for privacy is the reason we never hear about Gosling and Mendes' kids — in addition to how they met. They are rarely photographed together as a couple, let alone with their two daughters. That's a pretty impressive feat, given their A-list standing.

Nobody apart from the couple, their family, and close friends will probably ever know how Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes did meet. And they seem to like it that way. The two never post off-set photos together, and their kids are definitely off-zone. However, like everyone else, Mendes went a little stir-crazy and threw caution to the wind during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

The actor gave fans insight into her private life by posting candid home video taken by one of her daughters and a sweet photo of Mendes and her momma. "Hanging with the coolest of the cools. My hero. Mi Mami Evita," she captioned the pic. Meanwhile, whenever and wherever it was that Mendes and Gosling met, there was palpable and sizzling hot chemistry between them by the time "The Place Beyond the Pines" began filming.

When rumors started circulating that they were dating, it seemed like an unusual coupling. Mendes was all gorgeous va va voom woman, and Gosling was all hey girl, super cute pin-up — despite him being 31 at the time. Gosling and Mendes have a bigger age gap than you thought — she's six years older than him — not that he cares in the slightest, nor should anybody else. During a rare interview, Gosling didn't hesitate when asked what he looks for in a woman. "I know that I'm with the person I'm supposed to be with," he told Hello! "That she's Eva Mendes. There's nothing else I'm looking for."