Eva Mendes is sharing a glimpse into a deeply personal period of her life.
The Hitch actress recently reflected on the time she worked to conceal her pregnancy with her second daughter, Amada Lee, now 9, whom she shares with longtime partner Ryan Gosling. The couple are also parents to daughter Esmeralda Amada, 10.
Taking part in a viral social media trend that encourages users to post photos from 10 years ago, Eva marked the moment with an Instagram post on Jan. 15. “2016 — I was hiding my second pregnancy from the public,” she wrote. “made some pretty cool biz moves, and heartbreakingly, my brother John passed.”
She also referenced Amada’s birth later that year, adding, “Thank God my youngest was born and saved the family.” Amada was born on April 29, 2016.
The 51-year-old opened her carousel with a black-and-white image of herself seated and wrapped in a blanket, overlaid with the words, “2016 - I was pregnant. This is me hiding my belly.”
Elsewhere in the post, Eva included a glamorous photo from what she described as her “first photoshoot post baby,” along with another image from her “first cover shoot post baby.”
Although Eva and Ryan are known for keeping their family life largely out of the public eye, the Skura Style founder recently addressed rumors that they were relocating their family overseas.
“WRONG again @dailymail,” Eva wrote on her Instagram Stories in November, sharing a screenshot of the report. “Although I love my time in London, I can't wait to get back home and celebrate the @dodgers World Series championship!”
While she made it clear she’s staying in Los Angeles, Eva has been open about stepping away from Hollywood and her acting career.
“I was never in love with acting,” she told The Times in October. “I don't mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn't a great actress. I had my moments when I worked with really great people.”
The Place Beyond the Pines star also explained that her Cuban-American background often led to limiting roles.
“There were some pretty s--tty roles,” she said. “That's all they would say at the beginning—'she's too ethnic for this, too ethnic for that.' It was so crazy. That was the constant note.”