Ryan & Eva: Our Marriage Secret!

The loved-up and low-key a-listers are in it for the long haul

- Jennie Noonan

The pandemic has been a crazy time for a lot of people – and Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling are no exception. “Sometimes it feels like we are running some kind of bed and breakfast with very drunk and aggressive guests,” the actress recently shared with the Sydney Morning Herald of their daughters, Esmeralda, 6, and Amada, 4. “We really do feel like we’re working in a hotel, and the guests are angry and bossy and demand food brought to them. And by the time they go to sleep, we’re left to just clean up and talk about how they’ve treated us that day!”

Her comment provided an intimate look inside the life of the notoriously private couple. The pair were friends before Gosling recommended to director Derek Cianfrance that he cast Mendes opposite him in the 2012 drama The Place Beyond the Pines. They bonded on set, and in September 2011 they were spotted on a PDA-filled date at Disneyland.

“They were very playful. Eva was skipping around like a little girl,” a source told Us Weekly as their romance was discovered. Another source added, “There’s always been this strong chemistry between them … this was just a matter of time.”