The Today Show Appearance That Had Eva Mendes Fans Doing A Double Take

Eva Mendes has transformed herself many times over the years. She was once considered unemployable by commercial casting agents because she looked "too ethnic...to be the face of an American product," as she remarked to the Sydney Morning Herald. Now Mendes not only has a string of movie credits to her name, she also has an impressive list of product ambassador credits, a design line at New York & Company, and at one time was the creative director of the now-discontinued Circa Beauty line. Recalling how she loved seeing her older sisters glamming it up as teens, she told the Los Angeles Times, "I still love the art of transformation. It's the most fun part of my job."

But when the actress gave an interview on the "Today" show on March 27, some viewers wondered if she'd undergone another type of transformation. Some social media followers loved her pale pink suit — a nod to Ryan Gosling's Ken in "Barbie," perhaps? — and her youthful looks at midlife. To others, Mendes looked over-enhanced. Comments to one TikTok post included, "She has a filler face now, all puffy" and "Is she AI? Why does her nose look like that?" One follower got creep-out vibes, writing, "She and the interviewer are both dressed and styled like Stepford wives." This was followed up by: "She's starting to dress like Melania Trump." A couple of respondents had other ideas about Mendes's look; one thought she resembled Raquel Welch, the other said, "Why [is] she morphing into a cat?"

Though she achieved superstardom through star turns in films like "Hitch" and "Training Day," Eva Mendes is turning her attention away from the camera for the time being. She's a devoted mom to her two daughters with partner Ryan Gosling: Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7. During her "Today" interview, Mendes confessed to spending close to two hours just getting the girls to bed. (The plea "Just one more story" probably enters in there somewhere.) She added it was "almost a non-verbal agreement" to focus on motherhood while Gosling continues his acting projects. (Surprisingly, their kids were pretty unimpressed to learn Gosling would be playing Ken in the "Barbie" movie.)

When she's not doing school runs and errands, Mendes is busy with her newest venture: co-owner and brand ambassador for Skura Style, a line of recyclable antimicrobial sponges. The scrub surface fades with use to indicate it's time to switch to a new sponge. "My love of cleaning comes from my mother," she told "Today"'s Adrianna Brach. "My earliest memories are memories of me as a kid waking up on the weekends to the clean smell of the house, like Pine-Sol or Fabuloso, and Latin music playing." She expanded on the comment in an Instagram post. "When my house is [a] mess — specifically my kitchen — I feel like a mess inside. ...[W]aking up to a clean house — especially kitchen — gives me serious joy." Among those agreeing wholeheartedly was Alyssa Milano, who responded, "I love you."

Eva Mendes's looks aren't the only thing about which fans speculate; there's plenty of chatter about her relationship with Ryan Gosling as well. The couple has been together for almost 13 years, yet it's still unclear whether they're officially married. Mendes and Gosling have often explained why they don't walk red carpets together, which strikes some as odd. On one TikTok featuring the actress behind the scenes at the Oscars, comments included, They keep talking about all the reasons they don't get seen together it's overkill." Nodded another, "Like she won't post him on IG but she will post about him?" A third chimed in, "They don't even go out to dinner???"

Mendes seems unfazed by the chatter. In her "Today" interview, she spoke about working with him on the film "The Place Beyond the Pines." She said: "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 can be, and that means making his co-stars as best as they can be." Referring to his performance of "I'm Just Ken" at the Oscars, she added, "He just happens to be really good at his job, and he did it and he came home. ... Because that's what it's about. You go, you do your job the best you can and then you come home." And Gosling seems quite content to come home to his clean kitchen and his long-time love.