Eva Mendes is glad she waited until her 40s to have children.
The actress revealed she was too irresponsible in her younger years to be a good parent.
"In my 20s, I shouldn't have even been around a child. I was just foul-mouthed and smoking," Eva, 50, told People magazine.
"I could not have raised kids in any other era of my life but now, for sure."
The Hitch star shares daughters Esmeralda Amada, nine, and Amada Lee, eight, with Ryan Gosling, 43.
She found it strange that people thought her pregnancies were unusual.
"When I was 40, it was a big deal for people when I was pregnant, and it wasn't for me," she said.
"And then I was 42, and I was pregnant with my second one and people were like, 'Oh my God, you're going to be so tired. That's why people have kids in their 20s.' I was like, that's the most sorry, asinine thing I've ever heard."
Eva also opened up about her decision to effectively retire from her movie career once she had children.
"I was older, and I knew that my kids are going to be little once, and whatever I do or don't do right now is going to affect them the rest of their life," she said.
"Your career comes and goes, but kids, yeah, that was easy for me. They're just formative years. I wanted to be there for all of it."
