Eva Mendes is a mother of two children and therefore never travels light – but now she is forced to pack even more in her hand luggage.
The 50-year-old gave an insight into her “new everyday life” on Tuesday after boarding a plane with her daughters Esmeralda (9) and Amada (8), whom she has with her long-term partner Ryan Gosling.
In her Instagram story, Eva seemed nervous as she captured her daughters’ stuffed animal collection.
“Sooooo I guess they are an essential part of my carry-on now? Is this the new norm?” she captioned one photo.
Under a similar second photo, she added: “By the way, these are only three of the six who traveled with us. But at least I talked them out of taking 12.”
Eva revealed last week that her children don’t go anywhere without their cuddly toys these days.
She shared a snap of herself carrying a giant tote bag, along with a video of her emptying the bag onto the lawn to show what’s inside.
In addition to wet wipes, a coloring book and pencils, she brought two teddy bears – a black one and a gold one with a red coat.
Eva captioned the photo: “Mommy life. I’m officially in the bourgeois era. I can’t leave the house without at least two of these in my big mommy bag. Are there anyone else like me? When will this phase end? They’re everywhere! That’s all they want!”
Eva and Ryan made their first public appearance as a family when they attended the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this month. Eva didn’t share any photos of the family on Instagram – but she did comment on the public outing.
When she commented on the impact the paparazzi had on her, a fan replied, “Unfortunately the Olympics are pretty high profile and they are looking for celebrities. Hopefully soon you can get to a place where you can go and just hang out as a normal family.”
To which Eva replied: “It was great that they didn’t post the kids, so I’m a grateful mama bear. Thanks for the lovely comment. I’ll send it right back!”
Eva became a mother late in life and was already enjoying motherhood at over 50.
“I couldn’t have raised children at any other time in my life than now,” she told People. Eva added that she caused quite a stir when she became pregnant at 40.
She said: “When I was pregnant, it was a big deal to people, but it wasn’t to me. And then I was 42 and pregnant with my second child and people were saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to be so tired. That’s why people have kids in their 20s.’ I thought that’s the saddest, stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
She added: “It requires more patience. In my twenties, I shouldn’t have even been around children,” explaining that in her twenties she was “just vulgar and smoking.”
Eva retired from acting in 2014 to care for her daughters, describing it as “the easiest decision I ever made.”
“I was older and knew that my children would be little too, and whatever I do or don’t do now will affect the rest of their lives,” she explained.
“Careers come and go, but children, yes, that was easy for me,” she added. “Those are just formative years. I wanted to be there the whole time.”