Ryan Gosling Is Reportedly ‘Afraid to Commit’ To Eva Mendes Despite Their Two Kids

After seven years and two kids together, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling‘s romance appears to be hanging by a thread. And after a recent family outing, that’s seeming more clear than ever. During a visit to an LA park on Sept. 18, the actress watched with a wide smile as her daughters, Esmeralda, 4, and Amada, 2, climbed a jungle gym and tried out the slide. “She looked every bit the loving mother,” a witness told In Touch. Curiously, the kids’ father and her beau, Ryan, was also nearby — but instead of joining them to play, he chose to wait in their parked car. 

“It wasn’t your standard ‘family trip’ to the park,” noted the witness. “Ryan only interacted with Eva when she and the kids came back to the car. He helped them get loaded in. He and Eva did not spend much time together.” 

Unfortunately for the pair, that’s par for the course after seven years together. “If it weren’t for their kids, I doubt that they’d still be together,” said an insider, explaining that Ryan, 37, and Eva, 44, “spend an awful lot of time apart” and more often venture out separately than together. “They just make a really odd couple. They love the family they’ve created — their daughters are everything to them — but unfortunately that doesn’t make for a happy relationship. There’s trouble in paradise. That’s why they’ve never committed to marriage.”

They just don’t act like other celebrity couples in Hollywood. “Eva didn’t even support Ryan at last year’s Academy Awards when he was nominated for best actor [for La La Land]. She opted to stay home, which is beyond weird and kind of a slap in the face,” said the insider. Eva tried to explain her absence from one of the biggest nights of his career by painting herself as a doting mother, claiming in an interview, “I love being home. Instead of hitting the red carpet, I’d rather be with our girls.” Friends, however, believe there’s more to the story. 

“Eva didn’t want to go because of Ryan and [La La Land] co-star Emma Stone’s close friendship. Eva knew it was going to be a lovefest between them, and that’s exactly what it was that night,” said the insider. That’s only continued for Emma, 29, and Ryan, her co-star in three films so far: A few weeks ago, Emma gushed that she “can’t even imagine what my life would be without Ryan.” 

Over the years, Ryan and Eva have gotten into screaming matches over the other woman, said a source. “Although Ryan keeps telling Eva she has nothing to worry about,” the source continued, “it’s caused a major strain on their relationship.” Especially because Ryan hasn’t given her reassurance that she’s the only one for him. 

“Basically, Ryan’s afraid to commit,” said the insider, who believes that providing a stable home for their daughters is the only reason he’s stayed with Eva. And friends wonder if that will be enough to keep them together. “The cracks are starting to show,” said the insider. “Eva does her thing, and Ryan does his. They pretty much live separate lives.”