Eva Mendes says her ambition 'shifted onto the children' when she became a mom: 'I applaud and look up to those women who can do it all, but I’m not one of them'

Eva Mendes is opening up about taking time off from Hollywood to raise her two daughters — though she isn’t ruling out a comeback now that the girls are older.

The actress, 46, who is known for films like Hitch and Training Day, but hasn’t acted since 2014’s Lost River, directed by longtime love Ryan Gosling. In a new interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Mendes gets candid about choosing to focus on motherhood; she also oversees her own fashion line for New York & Company.

“I feel like, as far as my ambition, it didn’t go away, it just shifted onto the children,” Mendes says, referring to the two daughters, Esmeralda, 6, and Amada, 4, she shares with Gosling.

“I applaud and look up to those women who can do it all, but I’m not one of them — and, thankfully, I have a choice not to work and I realize how fortunate I am that it’s even a choice. I’ve been so happy to be able to incubate with my babies, but now they are 4 and 6, I’m starting to feel like my ambition is coming back,” she tells the Australian newspaper.

Parenting during the pandemic in Los Angeles has been just as hectic for Mendes and Gosling as it has been for anyone else.

“Sometimes it feels like we are running some kind of bed-and-breakfast with very drunk and aggressive guests,” Mendes jokes. “We really do feel like we are working in a hotel, and the guests are angry and bossy and demand food brought to them. And by the time they go to sleep, we’re left to just clean up and talk about how they’ve treated us that day!”

She adds, “When we feel like we’re just ‘in it,’ like all parents do during these times, we remind ourselves that these are the good times, because we’re all together and we’re all safe right now.”

Though she’s known for being extremely private, Mendes has shared some funny moments on her social media recently, including a hectic yellow-and-blue painting by her daughter Amada.

“Current Mood,” Mendes captioned the photo. “But how does my 4-year-old know how to capture it so perfectly?!”⠀

In previous photos, Mendes has referenced the chaos of caring for two little ones during a challenging period. Back in May, she posted a selfie documenting her daughters’ colorful decoration of their mother’s face, complete with bright blue eyes and scrawls across her forehead.

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