There’s A Perfectly Acceptable Reason Why Eva Mendes Wasn’t With Ryan Gosling At The Oscars

Ryan Gosling was one of the inarguable peaks of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. He didn’t win an Oscar (that one went to RDJ), but he did bust out a spirited, super-sized, star-studded rendition of “I’m Just Ken” — a strong contender for the best musical performance in the show’s history. Some people did notice a big part of his life was missing, though: Eva Mendes, his longtime partner, with whom he has two children. Predictably, there’s a perfectly understandable reason for her absence.

Per People, a source says she simply decided to stay home to look after their kids. “They try their best to stay out of the spotlight,” the source said of the two. “For them, the most important job is their girls. Everything else comes second.” They added, “Of course Eva is proud and excited for Ryan. She still sees it as a job though.”

The source also said, “It seems like a healthy way of living. They’re amazing as a couple and very happy together.”

Another source echoed those sentiments, saying that Mendes is simply “not into” playing the celebrity game these days. “She’s moved past that part of her life for now — the glam and the red carpet and the photographers,” the source said. “It’s just not important to her. She knows that it’s part of Ryan’s job but it’s not part of hers at the moment. She’s content doing her thing with her family.”

On Sunday, Mendes showed her support with an Instagram post, in which she shared a video of her standing outside his dressing room. In the caption she wrote, “Always by my man.”

Mendes and Gosling met on the set of the 2012 drama The Place Beyond the Pines, which costarred another 2024 Oscar nominee, Bradley Cooper. Though not officially retired, Mendes hasn’t acted in a film since 2014’s Lost River, directed by Gosling, and she hasn’t been on TV since a voice role in a 2021 episode of Bluey. In 2022, she admitted she’s in no hurry to return to the screen, saying, “I don’t really miss it.”

(Via People)