PREVIEW

Eva Mendes explains why she stepped back from her acting career. During Tuesday's episode of Today, Eva opened up about her decision to take a step back from acting after she and the Barbie star welcomed their children. The long-time couple have two daughters together, Esmeralda, nine, and Amada, seven. ”It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, 'OK, he's going to work, and I'm going to work. I'm just going to work here.” "He went and he did his job. He just happens to be really good at his job. And he did it, and he came home.” The Ghost Rider actress noted that it was "a no-brainer" for her to step away from her career to focus on raising her daughters. ”I'm so lucky if I could have this time with my children.” Eva and Ryan, 43, met on the set of their 2012 crime thriller The Place Beyond the Pines and have been together ever since. During the interview, Eva gushed about The Notebook star's acting skills. ”I have never experienced anything like that. The way he works, his commitment to his craft, how he wants to make everything as best as it could be, and that means making his co-stars as best as they could be.” "But unfortunately, or fortunately, there is only one Ryan. So, I pretty much stopped just acting after that.” Eva was last seen in 2014 thriller/fantasy film Lost River, which was directed by Ryan. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT