What Really Caused Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams' Breakup

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were one of Hollywood's most iconic young couples both on and off the screen. After playing Allie and Noah in The Notebook, they dated off-camera and were a real-life storybook romance for years. So what really happened to end this seemingly perfect relationship? Several things, as it turns out.

Gosling and McAdams have discussed their relationship pretty openly but haven't been too open about their breakup; they've kept those dirty details under wraps. Still, without elaborating too much, Gosling did hint to GQ that their split was ultimately mutual. "The only thing I remember is we both went down swingin' and we called it a draw," he told the magazine.

The Notebook was one of the most popular movies of 2004. So, naturally, when fans found out that the stars of their favorite movie were dating in real life, they went nuts with joy. In fact, to this day, there are some fans out there still wishing and praying that they'll get back together.

Unfortunately, fans' Kristen Stewart-and-Robert-Pattinson-level adoration of all-things Gosling and McAdams may have put too much pressure and strain on the couple's high-profile relationship. Even Gosling noted that fans were downright pissed at him when they found out they broke up in 2007. "Women are mad at me," he told GQ at the time. "A girl came up to me on the street and she almost smacked me. Like, 'How could you? How could you let a girl that go?' I feel like I want to give people hugs, they seem so sad. Rachel and I should be the ones getting hugs! Instead, we're consoling everybody else."

Well, considering you two egged them on with stunts like this, you might owe fans a whole lot more than hugs.

Unlike their characters in The Notebook, Gosling and McAdams' relationship wasn't exactly love at first sight. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The film's director, Nick Cassavetes, told VH1 (via Vanity Fair) that the actors got along so badly on set that Gosling wanted another actress to take the place of McAdams to practice his scenes.

"[T]hey were really not getting along one day on set. Really not," Cassavetes said. "And Ryan came to me, and there's 150 people standing in this big scene, and he says, 'Nick come here.' And he's doing a scene with Rachel and he says, 'Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?' I said, 'What?' He says, 'I can't. I can't do it with her. I'm just not getting anything from this.'"

Cassavetes forced his actors to yell it out, which helped them move forward. He said, "The rest of the film wasn't smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing."

Like many sad endings to relationships, Gosling and McAdams likely broke up simply because they weren't "the one" for each other. On the bright side for Gosling: he's since found true love by way of Eva Mendes, whom he met on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011 and with whom he has two daughters. "I know that I'm with the person I'm supposed to be with," Gosling told Hello! about his baby mama. He says the one thing he looks for in a female partner is "that she's Eva Mendes. There's nothing else I'm looking for."

Gosling opened up to the UK newspaper The Times about his breakups with McAdams Sandra Bullock, during which he blamed the limelight for getting in the way of the relationships with his two "greatest girlfriends."

"I had two of the greatest girlfriends of all time. I haven't met anybody who could top them," he told the paper (via Huffington Post) in September 2011. "Showbusiness is the bad guy. When both people are in showbusiness, it's too much showbusiness. It takes all of the light, so nothing else can grow."

Now that he's in a serious relationship with actress Mendes, only time will tell if their love can withstand the glitz and glamour of showbiz.

After The Notebook hit theaters in 2004, Gosling became one of the most sought-after hunks in Hollywood; only two-plus years later, he received an Academy Award nomination for the indie drama Half-Nelson. With that level of superstardom, it can be tough to date anyone or anything besides your career. In fact, even Gosling himself admitted to The Times (via Yahoo!) in 2011 that he was in "in a committed relationship with film." "I'm giving as much to it as a marriage," he said.

According to OK! magazine (via Hollywood Life), Gosling and McAdams' split was fueled in part by McAdams not being ready to have children. Although those rumors were never confirmed, Gosling has expressed on at least one occasion his desire to settle down and raise a family. "I'd like to be making babies but I'm not, so I'm making movies," Gosling told The Times in 2011 (via Celebuzz). "When someone comes along I don't think I'll be able to do both but I'm fine with that. I'll make movies until I make babies."

Well, he finally got his wish; he and Eva Mendes welcomed their second daughter in April 2016, according to TMZ. Ironically, People reported that McAdams' split from actor Michael Sheen in 2013 because he wasn't ready to settle down and have a family with her.

The end of Gosling and McAdams' relationship wasn't one of those messy Hollywood breakups that are splattered all over magazine covers. In fact, after they parted ways, Gosling had nothing but nice things to say about his former lover. Gosling told GQ, "People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that."

The two have reportedly remained friends after their breakup. In fact, rumors have also swirled that the two have stayed connected through phone calls. According to the Daily Mail, McAdams allegedly called Gosling multiple times for advice to get over her breakup with Michael Sheen. She also reportedly called him to congratulate him on becoming a father, which allegedly caused tension between Gosling and Mendes, according to Radar Online.

So, perhaps fans of The Notebook may one day get a Gosling-McAdams movie reunion after all.