Ryan Gosling says after he met Eva Mendes he 'realised that he didn’t want to have kids without her'

Ryan Gosling has opened up about meeting Eva Mendes and realising he 'didn't want to have kids without her'.

The Canadian actor, 42 - who is gearing up to play the neon-clad, platinum blonde Ken in the live action Barbie movie - has spoken about starting a family with the Hitch star, 49.

The notoriously private couple met before working together on the film The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011, but are said to have started dating shortly after wrapping production.

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They are now the proud parents of two daughters Esmeralda, eight, and Amada, six, but before meeting Eva, Ryan wasn’t thinking about having children.

In a new interview with GQ ahead of the release of Barbie, Gosling said: “When you asked me about Eva and kids, I think I said, I didn’t think about kids until she told me she was pregnant. That’s not really true.

"I didn’t want to overshare, but now I also don’t want to misrepresent. I mean, it’s true that I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her.”

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He continued: “And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore.

"I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”

The Place Beyond the Pines is a major part of the love story between both actors.

Last month Eva shared a clip from the film and shed some light on when she and Ryan met.

“Magic is Real,” she said. “We did not meet on set. The magic started way before but here’s a little magic captured on camera. Gracias to the increíble director Derek Cianfrance.”

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Ryan plays a motorcyclist named Ryan who robs a bank in order to provide for his girlfriend Romina and their newborn baby.

The Academy Award-nominated actor previously spilled details about working with Eva and their on-screen chemistry in the film.

“I think that she...I would like to say it’s our chemistry, but I think the reality is that it’s Derek’s process,” he told Elle in 2013.

“I think that chemistry is evident in other relationships in the movie, as well, and the kind of environment that he puts you in evokes a kind of connection.”

Barbie will be released 21 July.