Mendes (born Eva de la Caridad Méndez) would also share about how she and her partner try to educate their kids on their privileged life, compared to most people in the world, by telling them stories of how they grew up with little money.

‘I explain to them what I didn’t have, what Ryan didn’t have when he was little, how hard we had to fight, the dark days of being paycheck to paycheck, and this and that, but they’ll never really know unless they experience that,’ the Miami, Florida native explained. 

After going through bouts of anxiety in her lifetime, Mendes tries to instill self-esteem into their lives by giving them tasks to do around the house to build their confidence.

‘I still have all this anxiety and I see myself passing it on to my children,’ Mendes said, before admitting she herself was a ‘good kid’ growing up in Miami, which she credits her late brother.

‘He’d say, “If I ever see you out there with a guy or smoking, I’ll f**king kick his ass and take you to school every day,”‘ she recalled. ‘By sheer fear I was a good kid.’ 

During the interview, the retired actress credited Gosling with making her feel ‘sexy’ in her 50s.

‘I feel really f**king sexy at times,’ she gushed. ‘The way my man looks at me is just … at times I’m like, oh my God. That might not sit well with people, but so much of how I feel is a reflection of what he’s giving me.’

The hot and heavy couple first met in August 2011 after they both signed on to star in the epic crime drama The Place Beyond The Pines.