In the span of a single week, Eva Mendes buried her brother and gave birth to her second daughter. In an interview with Latina magazine, the actress opened up about how her life came full circle in a brief time bookended by big events.
"Losing my brother brought our family closer, and we were already close to begin with. So to just see everybody be there for one another and show up, I feel so lucky to have them," Mendes told Latina.
In April, Mendes' older brother, Carlos Mendes, died of cancer at age 53. That same week, Eva gave birth to her second child with Ryan Gosling. Mendes and her family mourned her brother as they celebrated the birth of her daughter. Mendes described the experience as jarring, but ultimately very moving.
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"And then they were there for me when Amada was born," she explained. "We had a funeral service for him and that same week I had the baby. So it was really, really intense and obviously beyond heartbreaking, but also kind of beautiful."
When Latina asked Mendes if the experience was a "renewal of life," Mendes agreed.
"And being totally honest," she said. "I don’t feel like I’ve really processed that yet."