Eva Mendes set the rumor on fire after she posted a new and potentially telling tattoo to her 3 million followers. The tattoo reads “de Gosling” and a lot of people think she’s maybe trying to tell us that she finally married her long-time partner and the father of her children, Ryan Gosling.
If this is the case it wouldn’t be surprising, as the couple have been dating since they made their relationship public back in 2011. They like to keep their relationship private for the most part, but with so much public attention, that can be hard.
Here’s a relationship timeline of the two very famous actors.
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling relationship timeline
This timeline isn’t as robust as some other celebrity romance timelines from stars who love the spotlight, but that’s probably by design.
August 2011—The future couple meet on the set of the very-good-but-heartbreaking movie, The Place Beyond the Pines. Gosling had previously dated Rachel McAdams, and Mendes had been with George Augusto, a music producer.
Sept. 2011—The two were spotted together at Disneyland. They acted like a cute new couple and ate popcorn, cotton candy, and rode a bunch of rides together.
Oct. 2011—The couple was seen kissing and walking a dog together. It was the first time they clearly let everyone know they were dating.
Nov. 2011—Things started heating up a few months in for the couple. Gosling traveled to Paris to be with Mendes over Thanksgiving while she was filming the indie movie, Holly Motors.
They visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery where The Doors singer Jim Morrison is buried and also went on a date in the Paris catacombs.
Dec. 2011—The second time the couple worked together, it was much lighter fare. They starred in an episode of Drunk History Christmas together; Gosling played a drunk narrator, and Mendes played his sleeping wife. Foreshadowing?
Jan 2012—The paparazzi caught the lovebirds at Manhattan Bowery Hotel where they spent New Year’s together and kissed at midnight. They went to a movie the next day with Gosling’s mom, Donna.
June 2012—The pair travelled to Canada to attend Donna’s graduation, having earned a bachelor’s degree in education. Gosling stood up and cheered when they said his mom’s name.
Sept. 2012—The couple was professional on the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival, but Mendes would later tell Kelly Clarkson that all she wanted to do was be close to him. She said that she had to tell herself, “I’m not in love” a few times to maintain her professionalism.
May 2014—The couple had been quietly continuously dating, but their relationship once again surfaced with the Gosling-directed Lost River, which starred Mendes. Shooting the movie together not only brought them closer but also strengthened the respect between them as actors.
Sept. 2014—The couple welcomed their first child, Esmeralda. Mendes would later say she didn’t want to have kids until she fell in love with Gosling. “I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby,” Mendes said.
Dec. 2015—Gosling told Hello! that the only thing he looks for in a woman is that she’s Eva Mendes.
June 2015—Mendes buys Gosling a nice watch for Father’s Day. “The brand doesn’t matter,” he said. “The symbol was what mattered. It meant, you’re on the clock now.”
March 2016—The couple go on a luxurious vacation together in Palm Springs for Mendes’ 42nd birthday. The rental cost $2,600 a night.
April 2016—The couple have another daughter, Amada Lee Gosling, who was born in Santa Monica. She’s named after Mendes’ grandmother.
Jan. 2017—Gosling wins best actor at the Golden Globes for La La Land. He dedicates his speech to Mendes’ late brother, Juan Carlo. He also gushed over Mendes in his speech. “While I was singing and dancing and playing piano…my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother with his battle with cancer,” he said.
March 2017—Mendes travels to Austin, Texas, to attend the premiere of Gosling’s movie, Song to Song, at SXSW. She tells SHAPE that she loves “being home” and would “rather be with our girls” than “hitting the red carpet.” She also opened up about the difficulty getting back into shape after the couple’s second daughter is born. “In some ways, it’s been more challenging to get back in shape after my second daughter. Yet it’s not as hard as I thought it would be, because I’m always running around with the kids. I never sit down—I’m on the move all day.”
Oct. 2017—Gosling and Mendes are spotted celebrating at TAO after his appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Feb. 2020—Mendes opens up about Gosling’s cooking abilities. “Ryan is an amazing chef AND baker,” she said. “For real. Incredible. No joke.” She claimed her cooking skills were not quite up to par. “I’m not sure that what I do is cooking. It’s more like steaming veggies and juicing and making rice. He really cooks. I survive.”
Oct. 2020—During the quarantine, Mendes reveals she loves staying at home with her family. “Rather be home with my man than anywhere else in the world,” she posted on Instagram.
Oct. 2021—The parents open up having to deal with kids during the quarantine. They say they tried their best to “entertain” the kids at home. “Our kids were at a difficult age not to be able to see other kids and interact with people, even though Eva and I did our best,” he said. The couple said they used their acting skills to be positive during the difficult time.
June 2022—Mendes posts a hunked-out Gosling as Ken from the upcoming Barbie movie. “So. F. Funny. So. F. Good. So F excited for you to see this…#Thatsmyken,” she said.
August 2022—Mendes shared an Instagram video where she showed off her lock screen: A photo of Gosling from The Gray Man.
Oct. 2022—Mendes provides an inside look on how she parents the couple’s daughters. “I don’t do the homeschooling myself because I’ve tried that, and it’s not one of my strengths,” she told The Daily Telegraph. She also shared that she strongly believes that people should try their best to “always keep a family together, no matter what you’re doing. Especially when the children are small.”
“We’re lucky enough to have someone we travel with that can continue their education at this point, and what we do is we try to incorporate the city we’re in as much as possible.”
Nov. 2022—We’re all caught up. Maybe they’re married; maybe they’re not.