Eva Mendes Slams Haters Who Shamed Her for Being Pregnant in Her 40s
Here’s your daily reminder that if you have an opinion on someone else’s pregnancy, keep it to yourself. Nobody wants to hear it! Least of all, Eva Mendes, who has been shamed for getting pregnant in her 40s (*insert long-suffering sigh here.*) The Ghost Rider actress slammed critics of her pregnancies in a powerful new interview.
The 50-year-old actress is mom to daughters Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 8, with Ryan Gosling. She got pregnant at 40 and 42, which is technically considered of “advanced maternal age,” which come with some increased risks just like many other conditions in pregnancy does. But despite this extremely normal decision that has nothing to do with anyone else, people were rude about it.
“When I was 40, it was a big deal for people when I was pregnant, and it wasn’t for me,” Mendes told PEOPLE. “And then I was 42 and I was pregnant with my second one and people were like, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to be so tired. That’s why people have kids in their 20s.’”
Uh, rude! No pregnant mom wants to hear about all the negatives about motherhood — especially when you blame it on her age. Newsflash: babies make you tired, no matter what age you are! That still doesn’t make it OK to point out!
Mendes didn’t take kindly to the criticism. “I was like, that’s the most sorry, asinine thing I’ve ever heard,” she continued. (BTW, committing that line to memory because I’m going to pull that out next time someone comes at me for any of my parenting choices.)
“It takes more patience,” the Hitch actress continued. “In my 20s, I shouldn’t have even been around a child. I was just foul-mouthed and smoking. I could not have raised kids in any other era of my life but now, for sure.” Yes, ma’am! How is someone going to tell you what the best time to have a baby is or would have been? That’s just ridiculous, and we are applauding Mendes for speaking out. And don’t even get me started on how this type of criticism doesn’t come for men… because it rarely, if ever, does.
In the interview, Mendes shared how she took a break from acting to raise her kids. “It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” she said. “I was older and I knew that my kids are going to be little once, and whatever I do or don’t do right now is going to affect them the rest of their life.” Mendes added, “Your career comes and goes but kids, yeah, that was easy for me. They’re just formative years. I wanted to be there for all of it.”
In an interview on The TODAY Show in May 2022, Mendes opened up about why she decided to wait until her 40s to become a mom. “Well something really crazy happened was that I met Ryan Gosling,” she said with a smile. “I fell in love with Ryan Gosling. And then I was like, ‘Oh, right. I want your babies.’”
“But really, consciously, I did want to wait until I was a little bit older. … As a woman, I just wasn’t ready [sooner]. It’s a personal choice for a woman, obviously.” She added, “When I’m pregnant, there’s always something to worry about. But thankfully I had really healthy pregnancies and I’m happy I waited.”
These celebrity moms all welcomed their bundles of joy after 40.