However the star was relatively reserved on any more pressing questions about her pregnancy. When interviewer Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey asked Mendes if she and Gosling were trying for a baby or whether it took them by surprise, and when she found out she was pregnant, she replied, “You're killing me, Cassandra...I just broke into a mini-sweat”.

But, Mendes did address why she has stayed inconspicuous throughout her pregnancy. “Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it’s unfair but that’s our reality. So Ryan and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that. It’s such an intimate time for the mother, too.”

“I know that it seems all very innocuous when you’re flipping through a tabloid at the doctor’s office or see a photo of a pregnant lady online,” continued Mendes, “But I find the media’s “bump watch” obsession to be both intrusive and stressful. So I made a decision to eject myself from it completely. I was like, “Annnnd I’m out.”

She says she's conscious of the reputation she'll leave behind for her daughter, adding, “I do consider how my own actions now will seem to her later on. For instance, with the Violet Grey photo shoot, I thought, “Is this something that she’s going to be proud of?” The idea that I would ever embarrass her is really heartbreaking for me.”

As the conversation moved on, she spoke about her go-to beauty treatments at home - "I use coconut oil as a moisturiser and I combine yogurt and sea salt to exfoliate. If I’m going out and looking tired and puffy (which happens a lot these days), I dip my face into a bucket of ice water" - her favourite item of clothing, "I love a waist. I love a beautiful dress," and her hopes for the future. "In a perfect world all women would be paid as much as men whether they were in a tailored trouser or lady dress."

Eva Mendes on the inspiration behind daughter's name and why she kept pregnancy private