During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show September 19, Mendes, 50, admitted that she “felt lost” once her girls Esmeralda, 10, and Amada, 8, reached middle childhood.

Eva Mendes gave an update on her future in Hollywood. After stepping away from acting 10 years ago to focus on raising her and Ryan Gosling’s two kids, the 50-year-old star appeared on “Good Morning America” Tuesday and was asked what it would take for her to return to the big screen.

Eva Mendes revealed that as her and Ryan Gosling’s daughters Esmeralda Amada, 10, and Amada Lee, 8, have gotten older, she’s had to deal with the fact that they don’t need her all the time anymore.

Mendes, who is currently promoting her debut children’s book, Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries, also gave a sweet shoutout to Gosling The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Speaking to Fallon, the two laughed looking back on Gosling’s hilarious Saturday Night Live appearance earlier this year.

Eva Mendes got real about some of the changes she’s experienced in her parenting journey over the years. During an appearance Thursday on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Mendes explained that she felt a sense of clarity as a parent when her children were very young but that she “felt lost” as they got older.

Speaking to Drew Barrymore about life as a new mom versus life as a mother to pre-teens, Mendes shared that now that her kids are less dependent on her, she sometimes doesn't know