Eva Mendes Questions Her Identity After Stepping Away from Acting to Raise Daughters

Eva Mendes, who has been raising her two daughters for over a decade, is starting to question her identity now that they are older and more independent.

Eva Mendes, the former movie star who stepped away from acting to focus on her family, is now questioning her choice as her daughters are getting older.

During an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Mendes shared that she never felt lost when she entered motherhood, but now she's starting to question her identity. Mendes has been raising her two daughters, Esmerelda, 10, and Amada, 8, whom she shares with longtime love Ryan Gosling.

Eva Mendes Questions Her Identity After Stepping Away from Acting to Raise Daughters

"I actually didn't feel lost, I felt very clear," she told Barrymore of becoming a mother. "But then, I felt lost. Then it was the cliché of like, ‘Who am I now, after the kids can survive on their own?'"

Mendes noted that her daughters are only eight and ten, but they don't need her "every second" anymore.

Eva Mendes Questions Her Identity After Stepping Away from Acting to Raise Daughters

"It's a little different, but I love talking to my girls about anything. So, I feel very fulfilled," Mendes said.

Earlier this week, Mendes was a guest on "Good Morning America" to promote her children's book, "Desi, Mami, and The Never-Ending Worries," and opened up about whether she'll ever return to the big screen.

Eva Mendes Questions Her Identity After Stepping Away from Acting to Raise Daughters

"I don't know. If there's interesting roles . . . I kind of felt like I did it, you know? I was like, ‘I just worked with Ryan Gosling. He's like, the best,'" she said, referencing her 2012 flick, "The Place Beyond the Pines."

"It was such a high [in] my career to work with him and what we created together, that I was like, 'This is a good time to like ’Seinfeld' it, and just walk out.' So, who knows?"

Eva Mendes Questions Her Identity After Stepping Away from Acting to Raise Daughters

In recent years, Mendes has shared that her mindset has changed since having children.

"Acting is something that I will always love. It's just like now that I have children, I'm kind of extreme," Mendes told Entertainment Tonight in 2020. "There's just so many things I won't do. Like, I won't do most of the movies I've done in the past. A lot of things are off that list. I don't want to do anything too violent. Of course, I don't want to do anything too sexual or sexual at all." 

Mendes did make a small appearance in the children's show "Bluey" in 2021, which she said "killed" in her household.

When talking about her book on "Good Morning America," she noted that writing it was actually beneficial to her parenting.

"Desi has these never-ending worries — I have them as well," Mendes admitted of the book's main character. "And she tries to work with her brain to…make sure it's not being a bully to her, by sending all these negative thoughts her way, and that it's being like a BFF to her."

Mendes revealed that her kids were fans of her latest venture. "They love it. I think they love it. They're very harsh critics though," she shared, before telling a story she insisted was real, and not only for television.

"My little girl, who just turned 10, was having a hard time, and I swear to you, I walk into her room, she's reading the book. . . . That really got to me," she said.

Mendes previously said that having children made her "extreme."

"It never goes away, I think that's the challenge of being a mom. No matter what you learn or how much you practice, there's just a lot of surrender involved. And I think that's what can be really hard — is to get to the place where you can just surrender and just accept that it's not going to be perfect," she said.

Mendes has shared that she's grateful for the opportunity to have been able to stay home with her daughters and that she's not sure if she'll ever return to acting full-time.

"I'm just living in the moment. I'm not planning on going back to work next year. I'm not planning on going back to work in six months. I'm just present with my kids," she said on "Today with Hoda & Jenna" in 2020.

Mendes' decision to step away from acting has been met with mixed reactions. Some fans have expressed their disappointment, while others have praised her for putting her family first.

Ultimately, Mendes' decision is a personal one, and it's one that she's made for her own family. Only time will tell if she decides to return to acting full-time, but for now, she's content with being a stay-at-home mom.