Social media is for sharing — but Eva Mendes would rather keep some pictures to herself. After the actress posted a throwback photo of herself for her birthday, a fan asked her to share more shots of her man, Ryan Gosling, or their kids, Esmeralda and Amada. That’s not likely to happen anytime soon, though, and the star explained why.

Responding to a since-deleted comment from a fan that said they “wouldn’t mind an appearance by Ryan on this page,” Eva, 46, shut that idea down. Instead of firing off a sassy clapback, however, she kept things positive. “As far as Ryan, I’ll only post flashbacks of things that are already ‘out there’ (like pics from movies we did or stuff like that),” she shared. “My man and kids are private. That’s important to me, so thanks for getting that. … Have a beautiful day. Sending so much love!”

The explanation makes total sense, especially considering the fact that Ryan, 39, doesn’t have any public social media accounts of his own. In addition to being a low-key couple, neither star is a fan of sharing every detail of their life. That doesn’t mean the mom of two isn’t happy to share the occasional sneak peek into her past, though.

The throwback photo she shared for her birthday featured a young Eva holding up a wrapped present. “46 years ago, I gave my mom hell and she gave me life,” she captioned the shot shared on Thursday, March 5. “I was a meconium baby (ugh, sorry, Mami, eww), and I’ve been trying to make it up to her ever since.” Speaking to her mom directly, she continued, “Gracias for STILL making me my frijoles and arroz con leche. (Yes, my mami still spoils me. If I ate steak, she’d still cut my steak for me. It’s a Cuban thing.) Te quiero, Mami! Today I celebrate YOU!”

Every now and then, we can catch a glimpse of the Hollywood couple, however. In March 2019, the parents were seen taking their daughters to Disneyland. In September 2019, they stepped out for a romantic date night. And in October 2019, the actress opened up about their lives during an interview on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show.

“We would be the bulldozing parents,” she revealed playfully. “We are very controlling. Very, very controlling. … I heard of the term helicopter parenting. I am like what else am I supposed to do? They are like this big! We have to be on top of them every second. It’s literally — the stakes are really high. So, yeah, I am a helicopter person. Then, I heard bulldozing, and I was like, ‘Oh, I am a bulldozing parent, too.’”

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